In a disturbing turn of events, a 76-year-old man named Panos Anastasiou was arrested in Alaska on Wednesday for allegedly threatening six justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. According to an indictment filed by the Department of Justice, Anastasiou is facing nine counts of making threats against a federal judge and 13 counts of making threats in interstate commerce.
The messages sent by Anastasiou, beginning in January 2024, contained violent, racist, and homophobic rhetoric, along with threats of harm towards the Supreme Court Justices and their family members. Specific threats included references to hanging, firearms, assassination, and acts of violence such as drowning, strangling, and beheading.
The Department of Justice claims that Anastasiou sent over 465 threatening messages through the contact form of the Supreme Court's public website over the course of a year, until July 16 of this year. He appeared before Magistrate Judge Kyle Reardon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska on Wednesday.
If convicted, Anastasiou could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for each count of threatening a federal judge and five years for each count of making threats in interstate commerce. The case is ongoing and the severity of the threats made by Anastasiou raises concerns about the safety and security of federal judges and public officials.