Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts slammed what he described as “dangerous” talk by some officials about ignoring federal court rulings, using an annual report weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office to stress the importance of an independent judiciary.

In his annual end-of-year report, Roberts said the independence of the judiciary is threatened by threats of violence, harassment, disinformation and defiance of court rulings.

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts warned Tuesday of "illegitimate activity" that he said threatened the independence of judges. The big picture: Roberts outlined in his annual year-end report areas of concern including violence,