Outside the courtroom, the sister of one defendant, who declined to give her name, said it was not fair to impose the restrictions on all the men.

"It's not only punishing those guys, it's punishing their families," said the woman, who brought her weeks-old daughter to court so her brother could see his niece for the first time.

Defense attorney Bel-Ami de Montreux said the restrictions could be lessened once federal investigators discover the source of the threat. But until then, he said, it makes sense that they would be levied against all of the defendants.

"It's a difficult thing, because this is a conspiracy (case) and they are just assuming that everybody is involved," de Montreux said.

The U.S. Attorney's Office declined to release any specific details about the alleged threat, the second against prosecutors since charges were filed a year ago.

"There is no more serious matter than a threat against a federal prosecutor," criminal division chief Richard Lambert said. "All the necessary steps have been and will be taken to protect members of our staff."

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E-mail: awelling@desnews.com