A 76-year-old Alaska man has been arrested and charged with threatening to injure and kill six Supreme Court justices and their family members, authorities said.
Panos Anastasiou sent more than 465 messages to the Supreme Court through a public website the court maintained, the Justice Department said.
Anastasiou's messages escalated to messages intending to threaten harm toward the victims, the DOJ said. The messages contained violent, racist, and homophobic rhetoric coupled with threats of assassination by torture, hanging, and firearms.
Anastasiou, who was arrested Wednesday, is charged with nine counts of making threats against a federal judge and 13 counts of making threats in interstate commerce. The DOJ did not say which Supreme Court justices were threatened.
If convicted, Anastasiou faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each count of making threats against a federal judge and a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each count of making threats in interstate commerce.
"Our justice system depends on the ability of judges to make their decisions based on the law, and not on fear," Attorney General Merrick Garland said. "Our democracy depends on the ability of public officials to do their jobs without fearing for their lives or the safety of their families."