These guns come in the form of the U.S. Marshalls who are under the direct control of the judicial branch.
You got the (admittedly extremely confusing) names wrong here. The US Marshalls are under the executive branch and report to the Attorney General, however the Marshal of the United States Supreme Court is a single person under the direct command of the supreme court and heads the Supreme Court of the United States Police Department, who are actually the people with most of the guns here.
This seems like its caused some confusion with some commenters here.
Hmm, yeah, I think I did get confused here! For people who want to learn more about the details of the authority of the different Marshalls, I liked this: https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB11271
Enforcement of Court Orders Against the Executive Branch
Months into the second Trump Administration, a number of executive branch policies have been challenged in court, and several federal district courts have enjoined enforcement of some of the challenged policies. As one example, on January 31, 2025, a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) barring the Trump Administration from enforcing a federal funding freeze with respect to a number of states that had challenged the freeze. On February 10, 2025, after the states alleged that the government was not complying with the TRO, the court granted a motion for enforcement of the TRO requiring the government, among other things, to “immediately end any federal funding pause during the pendency of the TRO.”
[...]
When a federal court imposes contempt sanctions, the U.S. Marshals Service enforces the order, including by arresting persons ordered imprisoned for contempt. The U.S. Marshals Service is an executive branch agency within the Department of Justice. Some commentators have expressed concerns that, if the executive branch chose to defy a court order, it might also seek to prevent the U.S. Marshals from enforcing contempt sanctions. The U.S. Marshals are required by statute to “execute all lawful writs, process, and orders issued under the authority of the United States.” The 2018 review of contempt against the federal government notes that, historically, Presidents have complied with federal court orders and have not directed the U.S. Marshals not to enforce contempt orders. The President’s pardon power applies to criminal contempt but does not apply to civil contempt sanctions.
In theory, the whole process from injunction to contempt to sanctions might proceed exclusively in a district court. In practice, however, it is likely that one or more appellate courts would also be involved. A court order fining or imprisoning a person held in civil contempt generally may not be appealed until the court enters a final judgment. However, a district court order granting injunctive relief is usually immediately appealable to the appropriate federal appellate court, and rulings of the appeals courts related to injunctive relief may immediately be challenged via a petition for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court (though the Court has discretion whether to consider such matters). A conviction for criminal contempt is immediately appealable.
I might edit the post to account for my confusions.
You got the (admittedly extremely confusing) names wrong here. The US Marshalls are under the executive branch and report to the Attorney General, however the Marshal of the United States Supreme Court is a single person under the direct command of the supreme court and heads the Supreme Court of the United States Police Department, who are actually the people with most of the guns here.
This seems like its caused some confusion with some commenters here.
Hmm, yeah, I think I did get confused here! For people who want to learn more about the details of the authority of the different Marshalls, I liked this: https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB11271
I might edit the post to account for my confusions.
https://www.scuspd.gov/department/
That isn’t a lot of men (or women) with guns.
Yeah I meant “most” where the others we’re comparing are the 9 justices and one Marshal at most.