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We Need Courage, Not Capitulation

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  July 15, 2026 9:00 PM

Yesterday, Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan went to Capitol Hill to testify before Congress. The Supreme Court is calling for a 10 percent increase in its security budget amid rising threats. Justice Barrett was the victim of a swatting attempt two months ago, and the Justices are asking for six additional security agents each.

Justice Barrett spoke about how her children found the bulletproof vest she was issued.

"Personally, they have required me to, or my children, to think about and see things that children should not have to see or think about," Justice Barrett said. "One example is when threats to my life were particularly intense a few years ago, around the time of the Dobbs leak, my security detail sent me home with a bulletproof vest. I carried it into my house, put it into my bedroom, dropped it down on the table ... and my 12-year-old son was standing in the doorway of my bedroom and he wanted to know what it was and why I had it, and I didn't know how to respond."

As a mother myself, with a son who just turned 13 years old, this is how Justice Barrett should have responded: 

"There are bad people in this country, they're Leftists who are mad that the Supreme Court is going to correctly rule on an issue they support: abortion. But rather than win the argument in the courts or with dialogue, they believe threatening my life is the correct course of action."

Because that's the one thing that Justice Barrett did not do: she did not name who was causing the threats and the violence. We all know they're coming from the Left. The entire purpose of the Dobbs leak was to intimidate at least one Justice into changing his or her ruling.

We can draw this conclusion because we've seen the Left in action for years. BLM and Antifa routinely burn cities to the ground. They attack and assault reporters. They threaten politicians. Multiple Leftists have tried to assassinate President Trump and high-ranking Cabinet members. They repeatedly call for a violent revolution and uprising to overthrow our government, shred our Constitution, and dismantle our nation.

They don't hide it, and they do it because they rarely, if ever, face consequences for it. When a group of Antifa terrorists was recently sentenced to, collectively, 450+ years behind bars for a terrorist operation at a Texas ICE facility—one in which a cop was shot—numerous leftists whined about the punishment. Undoubtedly, they expected to simply get away with it as so many of their comrades had.

After the Dobbs leak, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer—one of our nation's highest-ranking Democrats—warned Supreme Court Justices they'd face retribution for their correct decision to overturn the bad law that was Roe v. Wade and return the issue of abortions to the state.

And for that, I blame Republicans for failing to act. For failing to file RICO cases and other legal means to completely dismantle this behavior. For not ousting Schumer for his threats against a fellow branch of government.

The Biden administration had no qualms about using the FACE Act to throw pro-lifers behind bars on trumped-up charges, but the Republicans, it seems, can't be bothered to actually prosecute what are clearly federal crimes or even discipline their legislative colleagues.

The other reason we can conclude that these threats are coming from the Left is that there has been a noticeable and decided shift in how Justice Barrett has ruled since the Dobbs decision.

"The Dobbs leak triggered violent threats and protests aimed directly at Supreme Court justices. If the threat of violence or intimidation can move a justice’s votes on foundational issues, we have a constitutional crisis on our hands. Judicial independence is not optional — it is the foundation of the rule of law. When justices appear to bend under pressure, public trust collapses and the entire system is at risk," Smith wrote. "This cannot be allowed to stand. Threats against the Court must be met with zero tolerance, full investigations, and real consequences — no matter who makes them. Anything less is an attack on self-government itself."

This is exactly what the Left wanted. And even if correlation is not always proof of causation, it's a question worth asking: has the violence of the Left influenced Justice Barrett's behavior on the court? That's what a lot of conservatives are asking, and many of them are angry and calling for Justice Barrett to resign.

I'm not calling for her resignation. For starters, that gives the Left exactly what they want. But I am calling for her to display courage, to call out those who are tormenting her and her colleagues, and to demand they be brought to justice. Not just for the threats they post to her family, but for what they're doing to the Supreme Court and the independent judiciary. 

I understand why Justice Barrett is scared. I'd be more alarmed if she wasn't. We appreciate and laud courage because it's rare, and we need it now more than ever. What we don't need is capitulation.

The Left is violent, and they're not above harming her or her children. But she has an obligation to name where the threats are coming from and why she's being targeted. It's not random, and it's not coincidental. There is a faction of leftists in America who seek to rule over us by intimidation, threat, and violence. They will not stop until they are exposed, charged, and imprisoned.

That starts with Justice Barrett naming names and demanding consequences.