Judicial Complaint Accuses Trump-Appointed Judge of Broadcasting Pro-Israel Advocacy From His Chambers

A sitting federal judge is under formal review for conduct a Florida attorney says has turned his chambers into a platform for pro-Israel advocacy.

Katherine Giannamore filed a judicial misconduct complaint against U.S. District Judge Roy Altman with the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month. The filing accuses Altman, appointed to the bench by President Donald Trump in 2019, of eroding "public confidence in the integrity, impartiality, and independence of the federal judiciary."

The complaint alleges Altman has broadcast himself live from his Miami chambers during business hours on an almost daily basis since April 2026, and that he has used law clerks during public talks conducted on the clock.

"These activities have been persistent, almost daily and spanned several months."

The filing cites a string of on-record remarks. In April, Altman appeared on a podcast hosted by the Middle East Forum, a group whose stated mission is combating what it calls "the infrastructure of lawful Islamism," and called the keffiyeh, a garment widely worn as a symbol of Palestinian identity, a "terrorism scarf." On the same appearance, he described touring college campuses and churches to rebut accusations of Israeli rights abuses, telling audiences that students who wear the keffiyeh are neither countercultural nor unique. On a separate recent podcast, he said that in three years at Yale Law School, graduating in 2007, he never saw a student wear one, calling it evidence that even at "one of the most liberal law schools on the planet" no one thought it appropriate to wear "a symbol of terrorism."

In other interviews cited in the complaint, Altman said there is "no distinction" between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism, and in June described the region's conflict not as "seven million Jews against six million Palestinians" but as "seven million Jews surrounded by two billion Muslims." Altman is also described as a prolific poster on social media, where most of his content concerns Israel, and he is currently promoting a self-published book defending the country.

Giannamore, in an interview with Al Jazeera, said the pattern reflects a broader problem of judges using their office to advance personal political commitments.

"This kind of blatant use of the judicial office for your own political aspirations or your beliefs, it's bad for the judiciary. It's bad for public opinion as far as the legitimacy of the judiciary."

Under federal judicial conduct rules, misconduct complaints are reviewed by the chief judge of the relevant circuit, who can dismiss them outright or refer them to a special investigating committee. Sanctions, which can include suspension of case assignments or a request for resignation, are rare. Giannamore acknowledged the complaint is unlikely to result in formal discipline against Altman, who holds a lifetime appointment, but said filing it was worthwhile to prompt scrutiny of what conduct the bench considers acceptable.

The complaint lands as federal courts weigh a number of cases tied to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including the Trump administration's effort to deport foreign student activists who protested the war on Gaza.