A Taos District Court Judge has received threats via email and phone following her decision to release five defendants charged with abusing 11 children at a makeshift residence near the Colorado border Monday (Aug. 13).

Public backlash following Judge Sarah Backus' decision was swift, marked by an eruption of angry comments that inundated social media pages and websites where the news of the ruling was released.

Even for media outlets like The Taos News, which makes an effort to comb through comment sections to remove foul language, libel or overt threats, a story that has garnered international attention in recent weeks has produced a wave of reactions.

After Backus' decision on Monday to deny the state's request to hold defendants Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, 40, Lucas Morton, 40, Jany Leveille, 35, Hujrah Wahhaj, 37, and Subhannah Wahhaj, 35, the New Mexico Administrative Office of the Courts issued a statement condemning the threats and affirming the basis for the judge's decision.

"New Mexico judges take an oath to uphold the Constitution and the state’s laws," the statement, prepared by spokesperson Barry Massey, reads. "Eighth Judicial District Court Judge Sarah Backus carried out her responsibility on Monday in ruling on a motion that sought the pretrial detention of defendants charged with child abuse in Taos County."

The statement says Backus "has come under attack" by email and through phone calls following the controversial ruling.

Massey reflected Backus' own statements when she read the decision to the courtroom Monday: "The New Mexico Constitution has guaranteed since statehood that people charged with a crime have a right to be released pretrial, except in limited instances. The state Constitution provides that criminal defendants may be detained in jail pretrial only if prosecutors show by clear and convincing evidence that they are so dangerous that no release conditions will reasonably protect public safety. The judge ruled that prosecutors failed to meet that burden."

One of the five defendants, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, remains in the Taos jail on a warrant issued out of Georgia. The other four were ordered to wear GPS ankle bracelets to monitor their movements.