Supreme Court warns Congress threats are rising and the court needs more security

Justice Elena Kagan warned Congress on Tuesday that police expect threats against Supreme Court justices to rise nearly 40% this year.

Why it matters: As courts play a bigger role in deciding the nation's most contentious policy fights, anger from the losing side is turning into threats that risk undermining the court's independence.

By the numbers: The Supreme Court Police Department expects a "very substantial" 38% increase in threats this year, following a 25% increase last year, Kagan told the House Appropriations Committee.

Similarly, threats against Congress are up 50% this year, per the Capitol Police chief's recent testimony, Kagan noted.

What they're saying: "Those statistics sound abstract, but being on the receiving end of them is not," Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who also attended the hearing, said.

Barrett added that after the Dobbs decision leaked — prompting a California man to plot the killing of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and potentially other justices — her security detail sent her home with a bulletproof vest, which her 12-year-old son then asked her about.

"I didn't expect that performing this service was going to put me in the position of explaining to my children what a bulletproof vest was and why I had to wear one."

Kagan added that "for some of us, those threats have come very close."

She says the court is wary of the dangers but the justices will continue to do their jobs as they "believe legally right, adjudicating cases without fear or favor."

Zoom out: The court requested $18.9 million to expand personal protection, build an off-site security command post and hire cybersecurity experts. The largest line item, $14.6 million, would add six protection agents per justice plus 25 security officers at the court and support staff.

Kagan said the court needs the extra cash because it needs new physical security systems, expanded residential security, and additional cybersecurity resources as online attacks have grown in "number and sophistication."

What we're watching: Kagan and Barrett will again testify this afternoon at 2pm ET, this time before the Senate Appropriations Committee's Financial Services and General Government subcommittee.

Go deeper: America's trust in institutions keeps tanking ...