Justice Amy Coney Barrett shared before the House Appropriations Committee that the uptick in threats waged against her and fellow Supreme Court justices have taken a toll on her children."They have required my children to think about and see things that children should not have to see or think about," Barrett testified Tuesday.Barrett shared how her security detail gave her a bulletproof vest to wear, and one day when she brought it into her bedroom, her 12-year-old son asked what it was."And I didn't know how to respond because maybe I lack imagination, but I didn't expect that performing this service was going to put me in the position of explaining to my children what a bulletproof vest was, and why I had to wear one," Barrett told the committee.SUPREME COURT JUSTICES HEAD TO CAPITOL HILL FOR FIRST CONGRESSIONAL APPEARANCE SINCE 2019Barrett and Justice Elena Kagan's testimony before Congress came as the Supreme Court seeks a 10% budget increase for fiscal year 2027, with roughly $16.6 million of the $20.7 million increase dedicated to expanding security for the justices.Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett testify before the House Appropriations Committee on Capitol Hill July 14, 2026, in Washington. (Finn Gomez / Getty Images)Barrett, who was the target of a swatting incident in May, recounted how her and her family's lives drastically changed following the leaked Dobbs decision in 2022, which ruled that abortion was not a constitutional right, causing threats on her life to intensify.In that incident, someone falsely reported gunshots at her home, Barrett testified, saying her teenage son and his friends were the first to discover the street filled with police.AMY CONEY BARRETT DRAWS BACKLASH FROM CONSERVATIVE CRITICS WHO WANT HER TO BE A TRUMP PARTISAN"I was very, very grateful that I had Supreme Court police outside my home because they were able to stop and meet with and explain to the county police that it had been a false alarm, and ...