The Department of Justice announced on Thursday that an Alaska man, Panos Anastasiou, was arrested on Wednesday after being indicted for threatening to kill and injure six Supreme Court justices and two of their family members. Over a 16-month period from March 2023 to July 2024, Anastasiou allegedly sent more than 465 messages through the Supreme Court’s website.
Starting in early January of this year, he escalated to sending threatening messages to the justices and their family members, who remain unidentified in the 11-page indictment.
Attorney General Merrick Garland condemned the threats, stating that the justice system relies on judges making decisions based on the law, not fear, and that democracy depends on public officials being able to perform their duties without fearing for their lives or the safety of their families.
Following the May 2022 leak of the draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Garland announced increased security measures at the justices’ homes. In June 2022, a California man was charged with attempted murder of a Supreme Court justice after being arrested near Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s Maryland home. A trial in that case is scheduled to begin in June 2025.
This article was originally published at Howe on the Court. Recommended Citation: Eric, ‘Alaska man arrested for threatening messages to justices’, SCOTUSblog (Sep. 19, 2024, 12:00 AM), /2024/09/alaska-man-arrested-for-threatening-messages-to-justices/.
