Fact Check: Was a federal judge arrested after insulting US Attorney General Pam Bondi?
WASHINGTON, DC: US Attorney General Pam Bondi recently made headlines as she demanded Rep Jasmine Crockett apologize to shareholders of the electric vehicle company Tesla, owned by Elon Musk, after Crockett said she wants to see him being "taken down".
A rumor circulated online, bringing Bondi into the limelight again. The rumor claimed that a federal judge was arrested after insulting Pam Bondi. But is there any truth to this? Let's find out below.
Claim: A federal judge was arrested after insulting US Attorney General Pam Bondi
In March 2025, a rumor went viral claiming that a federal judge named Howard Gates was exposed for corruption and was arrested.
Notably, different variations of the claim spread across the internet on platforms such as Facebook and YouTube, according to Snopes.
Moreover, as the circumstances of the judge's alleged firing remained consistent across the claims, the person allegedly responsible for the judge's arrest changed in different claims.
The most persistent rumor was that US Attorney General Pam Bondi was responsible, whereas others named Rep Jasmine Crockett or White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, per the outlet.
False: Several facts mentioned in claims are incorrect
The claims made in the online rumors are false as there is no evidence to back them.
Moreover, as per Ballotpedia, a website that "includes neutral, accurate, and verifiable information on government officials and the offices they hold," there is no judge named Howard Gates.
Furthermore, the images, videos, and narrations used in the claim were made using artificial intelligence (AI), and the same language and pictures were used for each variation featuring Bondi, Crockett, or Leavitt.
AI detection platform Hive Moderation returned a 97.1 percent chance of AI content on sampling of the video posted to the YouTube channel 'Elite Vault'.
Pam Bondi says Supreme Court 'will get involved' in migrant deportation flights case
Pam Bondi said that the Supreme Court "will get involved" in the deportation case of nearly 300 Venezuelan migrants, according to The Hill.
While speaking on Fox News' 'Sunday Morning Futures', Bondi said, "Oh, the Supreme Court will get involved. This is an out of control … federal judge trying to control our entire foreign policy, and he cannot do it."
🚨 BREAKING: AG Pam Bondi slammed Judge Boasberg for protecting criminal aliens.
— Road To The Election (@Road2Election) March 23, 2025
She says they’re back in court tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/zS6ZfHBUNG
Notably, Trump's administration is fighting against US District Judge James Boasberg, who tried to stop the deportation of Venezuelan migrants on March 15, whom the administration claimed were members of the Tren de Aragua gang.
The District Judge ordered planes flying to El Salvador not to leave the US or to turn around if they already had.
Trump's administration argued that Boasberg could not interfere with foreign policy and that the planes had already left US territory by the time his order was issued, per the outlet.
Bondi ripped the District Judge in her interview on Sunday, March 23, and said that he is "absolutely not" entitled to the national security information that he is requesting.
She said, "We are appealing. We will in court Monday again. We will win. We will prevail."
