Anchorage man set to plead guilty for violent threats against US Supreme Court justices

The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 9, 2024. (Photo by Jane Norman/States Newsroom)

By Sean Maguire

Alaska Beacon

An Anchorage man is set to plead guilty for making violent threats against U.S. Supreme Court justices and their families.

Panos Anastasiou, 77, was charged with 22 crimes in the U.S. District Court of Alaska in 2024. He was accused of sending 465 messages to the Supreme Court starting in March of 2023.

Federal prosecutors said the messages contained threats to kill six justices, alongside racist and homophobic rhetoric.

Then-U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland alleged that Anastasiou “made repeated, heinous threats to murder and torture Supreme Court Justices and their families to retaliate against them for decisions he disagreed with.”

According to court documents filed this week, Anastasiou is set to change his plea from not guilty to guilty in accordance with a plea agreement. The filing does not describe which charges he is set to plead guilty to.

Anastasiou’s federal public defender and the U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska did not immediately respond to a request for a copy of his written guilty plea agreement. 

Federal court filings did not identify the justices Anastasiou allegedly threatened. 

State records show Anastasiou is a registered nonpartisan voter. Since 2016, he donated around $800 to ActBlue, a fundraising service that benefits Democratic Party candidates, according to federal campaign records. 

A charge of making threats against a federal judge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. 

• Sean Maguire is a long-time reporter of Alaska politics and general assignments. He previously reported for the Anchorage Daily News and Alaska’s News Source. Alaska Beacon is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.