A 76-year-old Alaska man, Panos Anastasiou, has been arrested for allegedly threatening six US Supreme Court justices and two of their family members, according to the US Justice Department.
Anastasiou is accused of sending hundreds of messages containing violent threats, including hanging and shooting the justices.
He faces 22 charges related to making threats and appeared in Anchorage court on Wednesday. His public defender declined to comment on the case.
The criminal complaint revealed that the messages were filled with “violent, racist, and homophobic rhetoric” and included threats of assassination, torture, hanging, and shootings, while also encouraging others to join in the violence.
The indictment did not disclose which of the nine justices were targeted or the specific family members involved. The court is currently divided 6-3 between conservative and liberal justices.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland condemned the threats, stating, “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.”
Garland emphasized the importance of judges being able to make decisions without fear, adding, “Our democracy depends on the ability of public officials to do their jobs without fearing for their lives or the safety of their families.”
Anastasiou has been charged with nine counts of threatening a federal judge, each carrying a potential 10-year prison sentence, and 13 counts of making interstate threats, with a maximum sentence of five years.
Court documents revealed threats to “hang” justices “from an Oak tree,” references to lynching, and plans to “put a bullet” in a justice’s head.
One message mentioned sending “fellow veterans” to “spray” the justices’ homes with bullets, “hopefully killing” them.
Several of the messages contained graphic violence and racial slurs, with one making a direct reference to Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife, Ginni Thomas, a prominent Republican fundraiser.
Anastasiou is set to appear in court for a detention hearing in Anchorage on Thursday.
Source-BBC
