U.S. judges facing more threats

WASHINGTON, May 25 (UPI) -- U.S. judges say they are carrying weapons and beefing up their security amid a rising number of threats aimed at federal court employees.

The U.S. Marshals Service says threats and other harassing communications against federal court personnel have more than doubled in the past six years, from 592 to 1,278. The service has responded by establishing a high-tech threat management system in suburban Washington, The Washington Post reported Monday.

"I live with a constant heightened sense of awareness," U.S. District Judge John Adams of Ohio told the newspaper, saying he began taking firearms classes after a federal judge's family was slain in Chicago in 2005. "If I'm going to carry a firearm, I'd better know how to use it."

Federal officials told the Post that disgruntled defendants are using the Internet to fuel anger at judges while violent terrorism and gang cases are bringing more dangerous people into the federal courts system. Anti-tax zealots and white supremacists who don't acknowledge government authority are also reportedly adding their own threats.

"Judges today have dangerous jobs, and that danger has many dimensions," David Sellers, a spokesman for the administrative office of the U.S. Courts, told the newspaper.