[DowsingSpoon]

I find this and similar stories to be strange. If a person calls a Federal judge on the phone to threaten them then law enforcement should take it seriously. Right?

“Seriously” here means a full and complete investigation. Subpoenas to phone companies, ISPs, web site operators and anyone else involved. Arrest them. Extradite them. Interrogate them. The works. And do this each and every time.

It’s bizarre to me that a person making a phone call, or whatever, like this wouldn’t be swiftly arrested and face years in Federal prison. Their life should basically be over. So, what’s going on here?

I don't believe these people would often have the technical ability to effectively hide their identity. Is it much easier to have flawless opsec than I might have thought?

(While it might be hard to argue in court that the pizza thing constitutes an actual threat, other examples in the article are simple, straightforward threats.)

[ZeroGravitas]

The pizzas were "often" delivered in the uncommon name of a judge's child that was shot in his home. I'm not sure of legal technicalities but there's certainly a common sense logic to it being a threat in that case.

[DowsingSpoon]

I’m certain you’re right. I was trying to proactively address responses along the lines of “it’s just a pizza” by pointing out there are unequivocal threats being made.

[AngryData]

In theory I might agree with you, but I doubt that cops would ever spend that much effort to protect other random citizens, and if it isn't universally applied enforcement for everyone it would be unfair to give judges preferential protection and could lead to even more class issues.

[DowsingSpoon]

IMO, it would not be unreasonable to give important public officials preferential protection. Federal judges already have a special status and legal protection baked into the law. So, some must agree with me, at least.

Is this fair? It’s a good point, but I don’t consider it to be immediately relevant to the question of why police aren’t enforcing these protections.