Political tensions have ratcheted up sharply in recent years, with some malcontents resorting to acts of violence and property destruction.

An example of that phenomenon came this week when the sister of a Supreme Court justice was threatened with a bomb attack. 

Email described bomb in mailbox

According to Fox Carolina News, police in Charleston, South Carolina responded to the home of Amanda Coney Williams on Monday morning at approximately 9:30 a.m.

Williams is the sister of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barret, who was appointed by President Donald Trump near the end of his first term in office.

Sgt. Chris Stinson spoke with Williams' husband, David Williams, who had received an email on Saturday evening at 10:41 p.m. The message gave detailed information concerning an explosive device and also referenced events in the Middle East.

"Using a 1x8-inch threaded galvanized pipe, end caps, a kitchen timer, some wires, metal clips and homemade black powder, I've constructed a pipe bomb which I recently placed in Amy Coney Barrett's sister's mailbox at her home in Charleston, SC. The device's detonation will be triggered as soon as the mailbox is next opened. Free Palestine!" it read.

Justice Barrett has faced intimidation in the past

Fox Carolina noted that fire and EMS personnel were dispatched to the residence, whereupon they conducted an inspection of the mailbox. No explosive device was found.

Authorities believe that the individual or individuals who sent the bomb threat may have also been responsible for an attempt to the home of Justice Barrett's other relatives.

The justice has herself faced acts of intimidation, particularly after America's highest judicial body overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Fox News reported that the militant pro-abortion group Ruth Sent Us publicized details concerning Barrett's personal schedule as well as the school her children attend.

Man accused of attempting to kill Justice Brett Kavanaugh

Nor has Barrett been the only justice to be targeted, as in June of 2022 a man was arrested for attempting to assassinate Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Nicholas Roske was taken into custody outside of Kavanaugh's Maryland home, with police discovering a firearm and other weapons.

Reuters reported this past December that Chief Justice John Roberts warned of a "significant" uptick in violent threats aimed at judges in his annual year-end report.

He pointed to how the U.S. Marshals Service has had to investigate more than 1,000 serious threats directed towards members of the federal judiciary over the last five years.