Wisconsin Justice Who Shot Down 'King' Trump’s Bid to Overturn 2020 Election Recalls 'Armed Protesters' Outside During Oral Arguments (Feat. Justice Jill Karofsky)

Elected in a landslide just months earlier to Wisconsin's highest court, Justice Jill Karofsky vividly recalls the atmosphere of "intimidation" that greeted oral arguments on Dec. 12, 2020, the day that former President Donald Trump's lawsuit seeking to overturn that case landed in her court. The Zoom proceedings captured national attention as Trump's then-ongoing legal blitz spectacularly failed in other courts, but Justice Karofsky recalled being well aware of an ominous demonstration boiling outside the view of the cameras. "During the argument, as I looked out my window, there were armed protesters walking right outside of my window and walking around the Capitol during the oral arguments," Karofsky recounted in an exclusive interview nearly a year after the proceedings. The Wisconsin Supreme Court operates from the second floor of the east wing of the State Capitol. "When the arguments were over, I got a police escort to my car," Karofsky continued. "I had a had, you know, beefed up security for quite some time afterwards." Like public servants throughout the country, Karofsky and her colleagues faced torrents of threats and abuse for months to come. On the podcast, she sounds off on democracy, threats against public servants, and how she was sworn to the the court just before the 2020 presidential election during a 100-mile ultramarathon race. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.