Alaska man arrested for threatening to kill 6 Supreme Court justices, family members

An Alaska man was arrested on Wednesday in Anchorage for allegedly threatening to murder six U.S. Supreme Court justices and "some of their family members," the Justice Department revealed on Thursday.

From March 10, 2023 through July 16, Panos Anastasiou, 76, "sent over 465 messages to the Supreme Court through a public website the court maintained," DOJ said in a news release.

"The messages contained violent, racist, and homophobic rhetoric coupled with threats of assassination by torture, hanging, and firearms," the agency said.

According to DOJ, Anastasiou was charged with "nine counts of making threats against a federal judge and 13 counts of making threats in interstate commerce." 

He faces up to 10 years in prison for each count. 

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said the U.S. justice system "depends on the ability of judges to make their decisions based on the law, and not on fear" and that U.S. democracy "depends on the ability of public officials to do their jobs without fearing for their lives or the safety of their families.”