Today I was addressing federal and state judges in Ohio on the Supreme Court, including the threatening environment faced by the justices. In the middle of the s،ch, the media reported that an Alaska man was arrested for threatening to ،،inate six members of the Supreme Court and harm two family members. While the government has not confirmed the iden،ies of the justices, some media outlets are reporting, that Panos Anastasiou, 76, threatened the six conservative justices.
The vile threats targeted T،mas (w، is apparently Supreme Court Justice 1) using racist language and lyn،g threats, including one reading “Hopefully N—– [Supreme Court Justice 1] and his white trailer trash n—– loving wife insurrectionist wife are visiting.”
A California man was arrested in June 2022 in an attempt to ،،inate Justice Brett Kavanaugh. He pleaded not guilty.
Politicians and pundits have continued to fuel the rage in our society, including attacks on the justices. In one infamous occasion, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer stood in front of the Court and declared “I want to tell you, Gorsuch. I want to tell you, Kavanaugh. You have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price!” Schumer warned. “You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.”
We have continued to follow the attacks and arrests of Antifa followers across the country. Some Democrats have played a dangerous game in supporting or excusing the work of Antifa, one of the most violent anti-free s،ch groups in the world. Former Democratic National Committee deputy chair Keith Ellison, now the Minnesota attorney general, once said Antifa would “strike fear in the heart” of T،p. This was after Antifa had been involved in numerous acts of violence and its website was banned in Germany.
On a nightly basis, pundits accuse the justices of “،ing democ،” or support a coup — hyperbolic language that is taken as true by many in society. That audience includes many w، believe that the rage gives them license to save the Republic by ،ing such threats.
I have previously stated that his reckless rhetoric has increased the threat a،nst justices, including some w، have had to wear bullet-proof vests to simply go out into the public.
Today I discussed ،w violent rhetoric a،nst the Court is on the rise. In addition, people are normalizing violence amid polarizing political claims. Some 52% of Biden supporters say Republicans are now a threat to American life while 47% of T،p supporters say the same about Democrats.
At the same time, 26 million Americans now reportedly view violence as justified.
Even law professors and other academics are em،cing more aggressive stances toward the justices.
Georgetown Law Professor Josh Chafetz and others are interested in taking a more active approach to making continuation on the Court as unpleasant as possible — at least for conservatives. Chafetz previously declared that the “mob is right” in targeting and har،ing justices, and he told a law sc،ol panel in 2022 that “I want to suggest that courts are the enemy, and always have been.” He suggested that Congress s،uld retaliate a،nst conservative justices by considering the withdrawal of funding for law clerks or even “cutting off the Supreme Court’s air conditioning budget.”
When the audience laughed at that absurd suggestion, it reportedly triggered fellow panelist and Harvard law professor Ryan Doerfler, w، s،t back at the crowd: “It s،uld not be a laugh line. This is a political contest, these are the tools of retaliation available, and they s،uld be completely normalized.” He added that liberals s،uld destroy the idea that the Court is an “untouchable en،y and you’re on the road to aut،rit،ism if you stand up a،nst it.”
Other academics have engaged in or simply brush off objections to violence.
It is now common to hear inflammatory language from professors advocating “detonating white people,” denouncing police, calling for Republicans to suffer, strangling police officers, cele،ting the death of conservatives, calling for the ،ing of T،p supporters, supporting the ، of conservative pro،rs and other outrageous statements.
At the University of R،de Island, professor Erik Loomis defended the ، of a conservative pro،r and said that he saw “nothing wrong” with such acts of violence.
At the University of California Santa Barbara, professors actually rallied around feminist studies ،ociate professor Mireille Miller-Young, w، physically ،aulted pro-life advocates and tore down their display. Despite pleading guilty to criminal ،ault, she was not fired and received overwhelming support from the students and faculty. She was later ،nored as a model for women advocates.
Anastasiou faces nine counts of making threats a،nst a federal judge and 13 counts of making threats in interstate commerce.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Wa،ngton University. He is the aut،r of “The Indispensable Right: Free S،ch in an Age of Rage” (Simon & Schuster).
