On September 18, 2024, Panos Anastasiou, 76, was arrested in Anchorage for allegedly threatening to injure and kill six U.S. Supreme Court Justices and some of their family members.
According to court documents, Anastasiou sent over 465 messages to the Supreme Court through a public website between March 10, 2023, and July 16, 2023. The messages, which escalated in January 2024, reportedly contained violent, racist, and homophobic language, including threats of assassination by torture, hanging, and firearms.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland addressed the arrest, 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."
Anastasiou is charged with nine counts of making threats against a federal judge and 13 counts of making threats in interstate commerce. He made his initial court appearance yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kyle F. Reardon in the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska.
If convicted, Anastasiou faces up to 10 years in prison for each count of making threats against a federal judge and up to five years for each count of making threats in interstate commerce.
The case is being investigated by the Supreme Court of the United States Police, Protective Intelligence Unit, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service and FBI Anchorage Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Will Taylor is prosecuting the case.
