Aventura, Florida —
Justice Clarence Thomas lamented the heightened security that has become necessary for members of the Supreme Court in recent years, telling an audience in Florida on Thursday that it is now far more difficult for him to take part in activities outside the courthouse.
The observation, which he repeatedly returned to as he spoke to a group of lawyers and judges gathered outside Miami, came as the court has sought millions of dollars in additional security funding from Congress amid increasing physical and cyber threats aimed at the judiciary.
“The security concerns now are much different from the way they were when I first became a circuit justice,” Thomas told the conference, which was organized by the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals. “That’s really one of the big changes since I’ve been on the court — that it’s become very, very dicey.”
Thomas, the most senior associate justice and a member of the court’s conservative wing, made similar remarks earlier this year at an event at American University in Washington. He had been scheduled to attend that event in person, but switched to a remote appearance. He explained the change at the time as a response to security concerns.
