April 13 (Reuters) – An Alaska man has agreed to plead guilty to threatening to assault and murder six U.S. Supreme Court justices in hundreds of messages ?he sent through the court’s website expressing disapproval of their rulings and ?actions.
Panos Anastasiou, 77, is slated to appear for a change of plea hearing in federal court in Anchorage on Thursday after entering into an agreement to plead guilty, opens new tab to charges that he ?made threats against a judge and knowingly possessed a handgun despite a ?prior felony conviction.
Prosecutors recommended probation with home confinement for Anastasiou. His ?lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.
The plea deal will resolve charges ?first brought against Anastasiou in 2024 as concern about threats targeting judges was growing. ?The U.S. Marshals Service in the 2025 fiscal year logged 564 threats to 396 federal judges nationally.
Prosecutors said Anastasiou sent over 500 messages through the Supreme Court website beginning in March ?2023, escalating in January 2024 to signal his intent to threaten and retaliate ?against the six justices.
The plea agreement cites a July 5, 2024 message that used a racist ?slur ?against Justice Clarence Thomas and called for the assassination of Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito.
“Every American should volunteer to ASSASSINATE not just Trump but the 6 corrupt unelected scumbags and whoever stands in the way,” Anastasiou wrote, ?according to the plea ?agreement.
He sent that ?message days after the court’s 6-3 conservative majority on July 1, 2024, handed down a landmark ruling granting President Donald Trump, who ?was at the time running for a return to the ?White House, ?substantial criminal immunity for actions taken in office.
The case is United States v. Anastasiou, U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, No. 3:24-cr-00099.
For the United States: Andrea ?Steward ?of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of ?Alaska
For Anastasiou: Jane Imholte of the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the District of Alaska
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