The Dictatorship
The calculated cruelty targeting the U.S. legal system

We come from different corners of the legal world: one of us a trial lawyer in Los Angeles, the other a federal judge in New Jersey. But we’ve both reached the same conclusion: The legal system in the United States is under attack, literally and figuratively. And if we don’t speak out now, we may lose the very institution that holds democracy together.
That’s why we created Speak Up for Justice, a national forum taking place Tuesday. It’s not a conference. It’s a line in the sand.
We have both experienced the fear and vulnerability that comes with doing our work in this increasingly hostile climate.
Political violence has becoming alarmingly frequent in recent years, with the arson at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence this weekend just the latest example. The legal system has not been spared. For years, we’ve watched as threats against judges and attorneys became more common and more dangerous. Court rulings are dismissed as partisan. Law firms are harassed for doing their jobs. Judges are vilified and, in some cases, targeted with violence. We have both experienced the fear and vulnerability that comes with doing our work in this increasingly hostile climate.
In 2020, Esther’s son, Daniel, was murdered by a man who came to their home with a gun, looking for her. The killer was enraged by the idea that judges could rule independently and wanted to send a message. That message cost Daniel his life.
We wish we could say that was the last time judges were personally threatened. But it wasn’t.
Just this month, pizzas have been sent to judges’ homes across the country with the message “I know where you live.” Some recipients were the children of judges. In a horrifying twist, some of these deliveries were ordered using Daniel’s name. It’s not just cruelty, but its also calculated intimidation.
These are not isolated events. They are part of a broader pattern of fear-based tactics aimed at silencing legal professionals and undermining the independence of the courts. And they’re working: many in the legal community are afraid to speak up.
We understand that fear. We’ve lived it. But if we let it silence us, we risk losing far more than our voices — we risk losing the very foundation of justice in this country.
We know the legal system isn’t perfect. We both work inside it every day and we’ve seen its flaws. But we’ve also seen the good it can do.
Speak Up for Justice was born from that urgency. We wanted to create a space in which judges, lawyers, advocates and everyday citizens could come together and say: Enough. Enough with the threats. Enough with the harassment. Enough with letting fear dictate how justice is carried out. The rule of law still matters.
We know the legal system isn’t perfect. We both work inside it every day and we’ve seen its flaws. But we’ve also seen the good it can do. When it functions freely and fairly, the legal system protects the most vulnerable, resolves disputes peacefully and keeps power in check. That only works if people believe that the courts are independent and that legal professionals can do their jobs without fearing for their lives — or their children’s lives.
We’re not asking for praise. We’re asking for protection. We’re asking for acknowledgment that legal professionals shouldn’t be collateral damage in ideological or political battles.
Most of all, we’re asking for people to care.
This is not just about judges and lawyers. It’s about whether we as a nation still believe in justice — not as a buzzword, but as a process that must be defended and made accessible to all.
If you care about democracy, if you care about fairness, if you care about the kind of country we’re leaving for the next generation — then we ask you to stand with us. Share our message. And commit to pushing back against the normalization of intimidation and violence in our legal system.
We didn’t want to create this event. We needed to. And we need you, too.
Paul R. Kiesel
Paul R. Kiesel is a trial attorney in Los Angeles and a co-founder of Speak Up for Justice, a national forum to defend the courts and the rule of law.
Judge Esther Salas
Judge Esther Salas is a U.S. District Court Judge for the District of New Jersey, a national advocate for judicial safety and a co-founder of Speak Up for Justice, a national forum to defend the courts and the rule of law.
The Dictatorship
Trump won’t rule out seeking a third term — and his company is looking to profit

With President Donald Trump continuing to tease the idea of seeking a third term in the White House, which is unconstitutionalthe Trump Organization is selling “Trump 2028” merchandise to supporters.
The company lists at least two “Trump 2028” products on its online store, including a red hat for $50 and a $36 T-shirt that also says “Rewrite the Rules” — presumably in reference to the U.S. Constitution.
The Trump Organization has long capitalized on his supporters’ appetite for merchandise, but the latest products suggest a blatant attempt to profit off of knowingly unconstitutional talk about the president serving a third term in office. When asked about the products, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt referred NBC News to the Trump Organization, though she said “it’s a cool hat and I suspect it will be highly popular!”
Trump has refused to definitively rule out an attempt to serve a third term as president. He has suggested that he is seriously considering it, telling NBC News last month that there are “methods” that would allow him to do so. Yet this week, he told Time magazine that there are “loopholes” that would allow him to seek the presidency again, but that he does not “believe in” using them.
Whether or not he would actually go to such lengths to challenge the ConstitutionTrump’s interest in keeping up the public discourse around the controversy is self-evident — and serves as yet another opportunity for his company to make money from his political loyalists.
Trump’s two elder sons have taken over management of the Trump Organization since he first entered the White House in 2017, and the company said in January of this year that the president would not be involved in day-to-day operations and that it would abstain from new dealings with foreign governments during his time in office. Nevertheless, the Trump Organization and his other business ventures — which have expanded greatly since his first term in office — have profited handsomely from his success in politics, raising a veritable parade of red flags among ethics experts.
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking/trending news blogger for BLN Digital. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.
The Dictatorship
Virginia Giuffre, an outspoken survivor of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse, has died by suicide

Virginia Giugna prominent survivor of financier Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse and an advocate for sex trafficking victims, died by suicide in her home in Australia, her family said Friday.
Giuffre’s family announced the news of her death in a statement, saying “the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight.”
Giuffre, 41, was one of the most outspoken women who accused Epstein of sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She said she was a troubled teenager trying to rebuild her life when she met Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwellwho roped her into their circle as Maxwell groomed her for Epstein’s abuse, which lasted years. Epstein, she said, then “passed [her] around like a platter of fruit” to his powerful friends.
Giuffre had named Britain’s Prince Andrew as one of the men who sexually abused her. She sued him in federal court in 2021, alleging that she was forced to have sex with him multiple times when she was 17 years old. Andrew denied her allegations, but the fallout became a national scandal in the U.K., and he was stripped of his royal titles in early 2022. Andrew settled with Giuffre for an undisclosed sum one month later and did not admit to any of the allegations.
Giuffre also hit Maxwell with a defamation areit in 2015and the two settled in 2017 for an undisclosed amount.
Epstein died by suicide in a jail cell in New York City while awaiting trial for his crimes in 2019. In December 2021, Maxwell was convicted on charges of recruiting and grooming teenagers for Epstein’s abuse. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Giuffre’s family called her “a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking.” She continued to speak out against Epstein in recent years and pushed for the release of documents related to the late financier as part of the settlement she reached with Maxwell.
“She was the light that lifted so many survivors,” her family said.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at988lifeline.org. You can also visitSpeakingOfSuicide.com/resourcesfor additional support.
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking/trending news blogger for BLN Digital. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.
The Dictatorship
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