Chief Justice John Roberts warned that judicial independence was under threat.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued a statement Tuesday defending judicial independence. He said judicial independence was threatened by threats, disinformation and the potential for officials to ignore court orders.

Roberts laid out his concerns in his annual report, released after a year in which the U.S. court system was unusually entangled in a fierce presidential election race. Donald Trump, then the Republican presidential candidate, attacked the integrity of the court as he faced criminal charges, although he denied the wrongdoing.

Trump won the election following Roberts’ landmark Supreme Court immunity decision, which drew criticism from Democrats like President Joe Biden.

Trump is now preparing for a second term as president with an ambitious agenda, elements of which are likely to be challenged legally and likely to end up on a court where the three judges appointed by Trump during his first term have a conservative majority. This is high.

Roberts did not mention Trump. Nonetheless, he wrote, other government branches must be willing to enforce the court’s decisions to ensure the rule of law, even if they are unpopular or a defeat for the presidential administration.

He pointed to the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision holding schools in contempt as necessary for federal enforcement over the resistance of southern governors.

“Making everyone happy is not the essence of judicial work,” he wrote.

The chief justice also criticized elected officials across the political spectrum for “raising the specter of public disregard for federal court rulings.”

“Attempts to threaten judges over their decisions in cases are inappropriate and should be strongly opposed,” he wrote. Public officials have the right to criticize the ruling, but they must also keep in mind that their comments could “trigger dangerous reactions in others.”

He also pointed out that misinformation about court decisions threatens the independence of judges and said social media could be used by ‘hostile foreign actors’ to amplify distortions and even exacerbate divisions.

There has been a rise in threats of violence against judges across the country in recent years, which Roberts called “completely unacceptable.”