A sharp political conflict has erupted in Antigua and Barbuda, after Prime Minister Gaston Browne delivered an aggressive rebuke to the country’s national Bar Association, which had publicly condemned his threat to deport a sitting High Court justice and demanded he retract his incendiary remarks.
In an unapologetic public statement, Browne dismissed the body he labeled “Defunct ABBA” with a vulgar brush-off: “Here is my response to your request for an apology: Piss off.”
The confrontation traces back to comments Browne made during a televised national security briefing this past Sunday, where the leader was addressing the persistent public crisis of gun violence across the twin-island nation. During the discussion, Browne launched a direct attack on an unnamed sitting High Court judge, criticizing what he views as excessively lenient sentencing for gun crime offenders. He declared that if the judge refused to “follow the lead of parliament to give longer sentences,” the justice would be forced to leave the country—either through voluntary departure or via deportation, which would see the judge declared persona non grata.
By Tuesday, the Antigua and Barbuda Bar Association moved to formally reject the prime minister’s words, releasing a strongly worded statement that accused Browne of open hostility to judicial independence and a direct attack on the constitutional principle of separation of powers between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. The association made two formal demands: first, that Browne withdraw his deportation threat entirely, and second, that he issue a public guarantee that executive powers—including immigration authority—would never be misused to influence, intimidate, punish, or remove a judicial officer for rulings made in the lawful exercise of their judicial duties. The legal body emphasized that even if no actual attempt to remove the judge is ever carried out, Browne’s comments already stand as a “grave threat” to the rule of law and an unacceptable act of executive coercion over the independent judiciary.
Browne’s caustic latest response makes clear that the prime minister has no intention of meeting the association’s demands, and will not backtrack on his original comments or issue the requested apology. The escalation of the dispute has thrown a spotlight on mounting tensions between the Antigua and Barbuda’s executive branch and its independent judiciary, raising widespread concerns about the future of constitutional checks and balances in the country.