US Marshals sent to protect Hawaii judge who stopped Trump's latest travel ban

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U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson

US District Court, District of Hawaii

US District Judge Derrick Watson

About a dozen deputies from the US Marshals Service have been sent to provide 24-hour protection for the federal judge who implemented an emergency stop to a new version of President Donald Trump's controversial travel ban, according to Hawaii News Now.

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US District Judge Derrick Watson has reportedly received death threats after ruling that Trump's executive order - which denied people from six majority Muslim nations from entering the US, and allowed the government to limit refugee intake from any country - was significantly founded on "religious animus."

"The illogic of the Government's contentions is palpable," Watson wrote in his ruling.

Watson also went so far as to tell the federal lawyers who protested his ruling that "there is nothing unclear" about his remarks on Sunday.

FBI spokesperson Michele Ernst told BuzzFeed News the agency was prepared to assist in the investigation.

"The US Marshals Service is responsible for the protection of federal judicial officials, including judges and prosecutors, and we take that responsibility very seriously," the agency told BuzzFeed News in a statement. "While we do not discuss our specific security measures, we continuously review the security measures in place for all federal judges and take appropriate steps to provide additional protection when it is warranted."

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