Alaska man charged with threatening to torture and kill six Supreme Court justices and their families

The threatening messages contained ‘violent, racist, and homophobic rhetoric,’ the indictment said

The Justices of the Supreme Court. Panos Anastasiou, 76, pleaded not guilty after authorities said he threatened six of the justices (AFP via Getty Images)

An Alaska man has been arrested after he threatened to torture and kill six Supreme Court justices and their families, federal authorities say.

Panos Anastasiou, 76, is accused of sending more than 456 messages through the Supreme Court’s online portal between March 2023 and July 2024, according to the indictment.

He now faces 22 charges including 13 counts of making threats in interstate commerce and nine counts of making threats against a federal judge.

It is not clear which six justices that Anastasiou is charged with threatening. The 76-year-old pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on Wednesday.

The messages had “violent, racist, and homophobic rhetoric” alongside threats of “assassination via torture, hanging, and firearms,” according to the indictment. The threats also “encouraged others to participate in the acts of violence.”

Authorities also claimed at Anastasiou’s arraignment that he has previously threatened public officials, including a governor, The Washington Post reports.

“We allege that the defendant made repeated, heinous threats to murder and torture Supreme Court Justices and their families to retaliate against them for decisions he disagreed with,” US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

“Our justice system depends on the ability of judges to make their decisions based on the law, and not on fear,” he continued. “Our democracy depends on the ability of public officials to do their jobs without fearing for their lives or the safety of their families.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin called the threats unacceptable. “Public officials, including those who work in the judiciary, must be able to do their jobs without fear for their lives or the safety of their families,” Durbin told the Post.

The Independent has contacted the Supreme Court’s public information office for comment.

Last month, a federal judge set a trial date for a California man charged with trying to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh at his Washington, DC home.

Nicholas John Roske’s trial will begin in June 2025 after his arrest three years earlier. In June 2022, officials say he was dressed in black, armed with a knife, gun and zipties when he arrived in Kavanaugh’s neighborhood around 1 am. The 26-year-old pleaded not guilty.