Utah judge faces violent threats after ruling against GOP gerrymander

Utah court employees have faced multiple threats of violence following a ruling last week against Republican lawmakers in a yearslong gerrymandering case.

The big picture: State judge Dianna Gibson last Monday rejected a congressional map favored by the GOP-controlled Legislature, instead approving one that is widely expected to create a Democratic seat.

The latest: Gibson has since received "some threats of violence," a court spokesperson confirmed Monday, when the state Judicial Council condemned retaliation in a statement.

• FOX 13 reported that multiple judges and other court employees have also received threats.

What they're saying: "Any conduct aimed at causing fear for a ruling or undermining the safe operation of the justice system strikes at the heart of the rule of law," read the statement from court administrators and new state Supreme Court Chief Justice Matthew B. Durrant.

• "Judges have a constitutional duty to apply the law to the facts before them, independent of external pressures," the statement continued. "That independence is essential to preserving the separation of powers and ensuring that justice is administered fairly and impartially."

Between the lines: A court spokesperson did not immediately respond to Axios' query as to whether the statement was also intended to address one state lawmaker's promise last week to seek Gibson's impeachment.

• The Utah State Bar condemned the impeachment threat, while other GOP legislators promised to appeal Gibson's ruling.

Zoom out: An Indiana state lawmaker was targeted with "swatting" on Sunday, hours after President Trump singled him out by name while slamming Hoosier Republicans who last week defied Trump's calls to join a nationwide redistricting frenzy.

• Multiple states are trying to redraw congressional maps before the 2026 midterm elections.

Flashback: In August, Trump attacked Gibson's order to lawmakers to submit new maps that comply with Proposition 4, an anti-gerrymandering ballot initiative narrowly approved by Utah voters in 2018.

Catch up quick: Prop 4 created an independent redistricting commission to redraw congressional boundaries and state legislative districts, but GOP lawmakers in 2020 passed a measure that made the commission's role merely advisory.

• Lawmakers in 2021 rejected the commission's maps and drew new ones that split blue-leaning Salt Lake County into all four of the state's congressional districts.

Stunning stat: Utah hasn't elected a Democrat to Congress since 2018.

What we're watching: Gov. Spencer Cox has backed an appeal of Gibson's decision, arguing that the state constitution gives the Legislature power to divide congressional districts.

• Meanwhile, the Utah GOP has begun hearings for a ballot measure to repeal Prop 4.