Alaska man arrested for threatening to torture and assassinate six Supreme Court justices

An Alaska antheral was arrested for threatening to torture and assassinate six Supreme Court justices and their household members. 

The Justice Department announced Thursday that the man, identified arsenic 76-year-old Panos Anastasiou, sent implicit 464 messages done the court's nationalist website. 

The messages from betwixt March and July 2023 contained 'violent, racist, and homophobic rhetoric,' according to the complaint. He besides allegedly threatened to termination the justices done 'torture, hanging and firearms.'

The antheral was arrested and charged with a full of 22 counts of making threats against a national justice and done interstate commerce. He faces implicit 100 years successful situation if convicted connected each counts.

It is unclear whether the justices targeted are the six blimpish justices, whose opinions Anastasiou 'disagreed' with. According to FEC records, helium donated to ActBlue, a Democratic platform, arsenic precocious arsenic July.

'We allege that the suspect made repeated, heinous threats to execution and torture Supreme Court Justices and their families to retaliate against them for decisions helium disagreed with,' said Attorney General Merrick Garland. 

The apprehension comes during a turbulent week for the precocious tribunal aft different bombshell New York Times deed piece.

Leaked memos revealed Chief Justice John Roberts' engagement in allowing the tribunal to perceive cardinal cases involving Donald Trump. 

The blimpish justice took the pb successful March's lawsuit connected whether states could region the erstwhile president from their ballots implicit his relation successful the January 6 onslaught connected the Capitol.

Roberts demanded a unanimous determination from the seat according to memos leaked to the New York Times.

He besides took complaint of the lawsuit concerning prosecution of the January 6 rioters himself from Justice Samuel Alito aft his chap blimpish was embroiled successful a enactment astir his woman flying the Stars and Stripes upside down from their home.

Roberts told his colleagues they should instrumentality the lawsuit aft an appellate tribunal ruled that Trump did not bask statesmanlike immunity for his alleged relation successful trying to overturn the results of the 2020 statesmanlike election.

'As I work it, it says simply a erstwhile president tin beryllium prosecuted due to the fact that he's being prosecuted,' helium said of the little court's judgment.

And helium made nary concealed of the what helium thought his colleagues should decide.

'I deliberation it apt that we volition presumption the separation of powers investigation differently,' helium wrote successful a February memo.

Some conservatives wanted to hold a determination until aft November's statesmanlike election. But Roberts demanded an aboriginal determination and past insisted connected penning the sentiment himself.

'In a lawsuit similar this one, focusing connected 'transient results' whitethorn person profound consequences for the separation of powers and for the aboriginal of our Republic,' helium wrote loftily. 'Our position indispensable beryllium much farsighted.'

The determination was a hammer stroke to judicial attempts astatine prosecuting the erstwhile president. 

And Roberts failed to unafraid the unanimity helium was demanding, prompting a scathing dissent from wide justice Sonia Sotomayor lamenting that the judgement had fixed Trump 'all the immunity helium asked for and more'. 

She warned that it protected 'treasonous acts', transformed the president into 'a king supra the law' and led her to 'fear for our democracy'.

But helium won lukewarm praise from conservatives connected the tribunal for his proactive enactment with Justice Brett Kavanaugh thanking him for his 'extraordinary opinion', and 'exceptional work'.

All 9 justices had been minded to onslaught retired Colorado's effort to region Trump from the ballot, the insubstantial reported.

But helium mislaid that unanimity erstwhile helium demanded a ruling that Congressional enactment would beryllium needed for the Constitutional prohibition connected insurrectionists taking bureau to use to the president.

In April Roberts asked Alito to constitute the sentiment erstwhile the tribunal was asked to see whether the Department of Justice had overreached successful its prosecution for obstruction of January 6 rioters.

Around 250 had been charged with 'obstructing an authoritative proceeding', a complaint that prosecutors were considering bringing against Trump himself.   

Alito was soon embroiled successful questions of whether his woman had shown sympathy for the 'Stop the Steal' question with her flying of an upside down flag. 

But Alito did not recuse himself from the lawsuit and Roberts took it backmost and enactment his ain sanction connected it.

The alteration of authorship was not reported connected astatine the clip but near Roberts penning the opinions connected they cardinal cases affecting the chances of a 2nd Trump presidency.

Roberts, who was appointed to the tribunal by President George W Bush, had insisted that 'no 1 is supra the instrumentality nether our strategy and that includes the president,' astatine his confirmation proceeding successful 2005.

He had been near furious erstwhile the court's sentiment connected Roe vs Wade was leaked up of its authoritative merchandise successful May 2022.

He called it 'absolutely appalling', and an 'egregious breach' of the court's confidentiality.

The judgement itself had near Roberts sidelined arsenic helium won enactment from nary of his 8 colleagues for his effort to tighten without extinguishing the law close to an abortion.

The latest leaks suggest helium has attempted to reassert his authorization with a vengeance successful the 2 years since, but they person alarmed law and ineligible experts.

'I had thought the Chief was politically savvy, but it's chaotic helium thought the immunity determination would beryllium well-received,' wrote instrumentality prof Jake Charles. 'Seems he's besides successful an echo chamber.'