Ex-Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy pleads for civil political discourse, warns 'democracy is at risk'

Former U S Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy warned Thursday that the tone of political discourse and threats to judges are undermining the ability of the U S to serve as an example of freedom and democracy around the world Kennedy a Reagan appointee who retired in during President Donald Trump's first term was speaking during a virtual forum about threats to the rule of law as he defended the role of judges in a democracy and advocated for the need to protect them and their families from threats A large number of in the rest of the world look to the United States to see what democracy is to see what democracy ought to be Kennedy revealed during the Speak Up for Justice event one day before the current Supreme Court justices are set to deliver their final rulings of the current term If they see a hostile fractious discourse if they see a discourse that uses identity politics rather than to talk about issues democracy is at vulnerability Freedom is at pitfall he continued BOOKER CRUZ SPAR OVER THREATS TO US JUDGES IN FIERY SENATE EXCHANGEKennedy did not mention Trump even as other participants expressed concern about the barrage of threats and attacks against judges for blocking key parts of the president's political agenda during his second term including his immigration policies firings of federal workers and his implementation of broad-based tariffs But Kennedy's remarks appeared to be sparked at least in part by the Trump administration's repeated attacks against judges who have ruled against him including selected whom he appointed during his first term In March Trump criticized U S District Court Judge James Boasberg as a radical left lunatic and called for his impeachment after he attempted to block the administration from removing alleged Venezuelan gang members from the U S under the Alien Enemies Act a wartime presidential power Trump invoked Last month Trump attacked USA-hating judges as monsters who want our country to go to hell Trump's rhetoric has come alongside an uptick in threats against judges according to POLITICO although spokespeople for the administration have announced the president is against any threats and that they would face prosecution from the Justice Department Kennedy explained judges must have protection for themselves and their families and that judges are best protected when the community and our nation realize how central they are to our discourse We should be concerned in this country about as I've already indicated the tone of our political discourse he revealed Identity politics are used so that a person is characterized by his or her partisan affiliation That's not what democracy and civil discourse is about Other participants at the forum which featured judges from the U S and other countries who warned about how attacks on courts can threaten democracies also took aim at Trump's report denouncing the courts Without mentioning Trump by name U S District Judge Esther Salas whose son was killed by a disgruntled lawyer who went to her New Jersey home in stated disinformation about judges was spreading from the top down with jurists attacked as rogue and corrupt CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS DOUBLES DOWN ON DEFENSE OF COURTS AS SCOTUS GEARS UP TO HEAR KEY TRUMP CASES Judges are rogue Sound familiar Judges are corrupt Sound familiar Judges are monsters Judges hate America Salas reported We are seeing the spreading of disinformation coming from the top down CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPSalas warned that the number of threats recorded against judges this year was reaching historic heights in the U S noting that the U S Marshals Institution has tracked more than threats against judges since January when Trump was inaugurated We're going to break records people and not in a good way she commented Reuters contributed to this analysis