Published on September 20, 2024, 12:37 am

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has confirmed the arrest and indictment of a 76-year-old Alaskan resident, identified as Panos Anastasiou, for allegedly issuing threats against six U.S. Supreme Court Justices and members of their families. The purported threats occurred over a period of 16 months.

Anastasiou was apprehended in Anchorage following an investigation that traced back to March 10, 2023. During the preceding months up until July 16, he had reportedly sent about 465 messages to the Supreme Court via a public website hosted by the court.

The allegations leveled against Anastasiou include making rattling threats to murder and torture Supreme Court Justices for rulings he disagreed with, according to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. He added that such threatening behavior infringes on officials’ safety and obstructs the due functioning of our justice system and democracy at large.

On January 4, Anastasiou allegedly intensified his messages which took on violent, racist, homophobic undertones coupled with death threats made through methods including torture, hanging, and firearms.

As part of the charges raised against him in an indictment sheet, Anastasiou is facing nine counts for making threats against a federal judge as well as thirteen charges related to interstate commerce threat incidents.

Specifics regarding which justices were under threat remain undisclosed although speculations are inclined towards conservatives considering certain factors from correspondence received. On one occasion, it was suggested he wanted to see one justice hanged alongside a former unnamed president – widely speculated to be ex-president Donald Trump – since one message referenced a “convicted criminal.” Significantly this year saw Donald Trump being convicted by a New York jury on numerous state felony counts; marking him as the inaugural president found guilty post-presidency.

Another communicated threat sent on May 10 expressed intent to kill via “lynching” accompanied by racial slurs targeting presumably same person.

Additional findings by online users have exposed a string of over 80 minor donations to political organization ACT BLUE, referencing “Panos Anastasiou” and “Alaska,” from as far back as 2016. It’s currently uncertain whether this is the same individual involved in the recent arrest.

As new developments unfold in this breaking real news, stay tuned for updates that offer trusted news grounded in a Christian worldview.