Following reports that a suspect had been arrested for making threats to injure and kill six of the nine Supreme Court justices and several of their families, the Democratic Party issued a comprehensive condemnation of political violence.
“Threats and acts of violence are unacceptable. Period,” Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, told The Washington Post. “As President Biden and Vice President Harris have always said, there is no place for violence in our country. Violent rhetoric and threats are unacceptable,” White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said. “There is no place for political violence in our country,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland.
It remains unclear which judge Panos Anastasio, a 76-year-old Alaska resident, intended to attack.
but, The complaints filed against him The complaint said Wednesday that Anastasiou's threats included racist slurs, but noted that the only Black Supreme Court justice is Clarence Thomas, who often votes with the court's conservative majority. The complaint further described Anastasiou's threats as including violent rhetoric against the former president, whom Anastasiou described as a “convicted felon.” Former President Donald Trump became the first former president to be convicted of a felony earlier this year.
Alaska man arrested for threatening six Supreme Court justices
The Anchorage, Alaska home of Panos Anastasio, who is indicted in federal court on charges of threatening a U.S. Supreme Court justice and his family. (AP Photo/Marc Thissen)
Democrats have repeatedly criticized the Supreme Court as illegitimate. Duke Law School Prophetic Speech On Monday, Kannon Shanmugam, widely regarded as one of the country's leading appellate lawyers and who has argued 35 cases in the Supreme Court, said “attacks on the legitimacy of the courts are fuelling threats of violence against judges in general.”
“Enough is enough. When will the media pressure Democrats like Senator Schumer, Senator Durbin, Senator Whitehouse, VP Harris and others to stop their baseless attacks that pose real threats to the safety of Supreme Court Justices?” Asked Republican Florida Sen. Rick Scott Following news of Anastasiou's arrest, he said, “Look, someone took Chuck Schumer seriously.” Trent England said:Founder and executive director of the conservative nonprofit organization Save Our States. Critics pointed out Anastasio was a frequent donor to the Democratic Party.
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President Trump's ability to appoint new justices and reshape the Supreme Court has frustrated Democrats.
He gave an impassioned speech before the Supreme Court after the preliminary draft opinion was overturned. Roe v. Wade After the information was leaked in the spring of 2020, Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, targeted conservative judges Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch, who were both nominated by President Trump. “Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, I'm telling you, you've created a storm, and you will pay a price,” Schumer shouted outside the Supreme Court steps in 2020. “If you proceed with these terrible decisions, you don't know what's coming at you.”
U.S. Supreme Court Justices: (front row, from left) Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito, Justice Elena Kagan, (back row, from left) Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Justice Neil Gorsuch, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
“The Supreme Court is no good, and the public knows it,” he said. The Democratic Senator “The law restricts the ability of New York City lawholders to carry guns, even if they are lawful gun owners,” he said in an August 2019 brief after the Supreme Court took up a case about the constitutionality of a city law restricting the ability of New York City lawholders to carry guns.
During the confirmation process of Amy Coney Barrett, President Trump's final Supreme Court nominee who would eventually serve on the court in 2020, then-Senator Kamala Harris called the confirmation “illegal” and “reckless.” After the Supreme Court decided to overturn the nomination, Roe v. Wade“There is a nationwide movement underway to attack our hard-won, fought-for freedoms,” Harris warned.
“At this point, I don't want to use my voice in an alarmist way,” she added earlier this year. An interview with the New York Times. “But this court has made it very clear that it is prepared to withdraw rights that have been granted.“
Harris was “positive” about adding seats to the Supreme Court during the 2019 presidential election.
The U.S. Supreme Court, located in Washington, DC, is the seat of the highest court and judicial branch of the United States. (Robert Alexander/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, in July, Senator Ed MarkeyThe fact that “our most fundamental freedoms are under attack from an illegitimate and radical majority on the US Supreme Court” places the blame on “Donald Trump and his MAGA cronies.”
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“They started by breaking the rules on confirmation of judges and ended up breaking the Supreme Court itself,” Markey said.
of The Justice Department on Wednesday Anastasio was charged with nine counts of threatening a federal judge and 13 counts of threatening in interstate commerce. He faces up to 10 years in prison.
“Our justice system relies on judges' ability to sentence people according to the law, not fear.” Attorney General Merrick Garland Thursday. “Our democracy depends on public servants being able to do their jobs without fearing for the safety of their lives and their families.”
