The organization, which represents over 7,000 trial lawyers and judges, argues that Percival’s actions move beyond mere policy disagreement into the realm of intimidation. By categorizing jurists who ruled against the current administration alongside violent criminals, the DHS official has created a tangible security risk. ABOTA National President William D. Shapiro stated that the publication served no administrative purpose, functioning instead as a calculated attempt to erode public confidence in the courts and bully independent jurists.

Shapiro emphasized that when the executive branch leverages its authority to target individual members of the judiciary, it compromises the constitutional checks and balances essential to American democracy. The association maintains that the legal profession is obligated to defend judicial independence, noting that silence in the face of such conduct would be a dereliction of their duty to protect the rule of law. The board is now calling for a firm stance against the normalization of threats directed at those presiding over the federal court system.