By John Fritze, CNN
Aventura, Florida (CNN) — Justice Clarence Thomas lamented the heightened security that has become necessary for members of the Supreme Court in recent years, telling an audience in Florida on Thursday that it is now far more difficult for him to take part in activities outside the courthouse.
The observation, which he repeatedly returned to as he spoke to a group of lawyers and judges gathered outside Miami, came as the court has sought millions of dollars in additional security funding from Congress amid increasing physical and cyber threats aimed at the judiciary.
“The security concerns now are much different from the way they were when I first became a circuit justice,” Thomas told the conference, which was organized by the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals. “That’s really one of the big changes since I’ve been on the court — that it’s become very, very dicey.”
Thomas, the most senior associate justice and a member of the court’s conservative wing, made similar remarks earlier this year at an event at American University in Washington. He had been scheduled to attend that event in person, but switched to a remote appearance. He explained the change at the time as a response to security concerns.
Thomas said then that he didn’t want to “endanger anyone by my mere presence.”
“The reason we’re sitting here, I think, unfortunately, shows a direction — and rather than sitting with these good people — shows a direction that we have traveled … demonstrates how far we have come,” he said at the time. “We have come a long way in the wrong direction.”
For years, judiciary officials and others have warned about a dramatic increase in the number of threats aimed at federal judges and prosecutors. The danger was driven home for the Supreme Court in 2022 when a person attempted to kill Justice Brett Kavanaugh following the leak of a draft decision from the court overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Thomas’ full remarks to the judicial conference were mostly breezy and avoided controversy or much discussion of the current court. He noted, as he has in the past, that he misses the justices he served with when he joined the Supreme Court in 1991. He talked about the significance of celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and professed his love for barbecue — pulled pork, specifically.
While he ripped on the nation’s capital briefly, his remarks were far less acerbic than two years ago, when at the same conference, he described Washington as a “hideous place.”
Thomas, whose wife, Virginia “Ginni” Thomas is an Omaha native, briefly discussed his support for University of Nebraska sports but noted he didn’t get to games as much as he wanted to these days.
“And as I said, because of the security concerns, I’m not able to move around as much as I used to,” he said.
With more than 34 years on the bench, Thomas this month became the second-longest serving Supreme Court justice. Assuming he stays on the court — and there are no signs he is considering a retirement — he would become the longest-serving justice in 2028.
Thomas, 77, was interviewed Thursday by a former clerk, Kasdin Mitchell, who President Donald Trump recently nominated for a federal judgeship in Texas. When Mitchell repeatedly mentioned Thomas’ longevity, the justice broke into laughter.
“Thanks for letting me know that,” Thomas quipped. “You keep bringing that u