Minnesota Man Charged with Threatening to Kill US Judge

A Minnesota man was charged with threatening to kill a federal judge after allegedly printing copies of a manifesto titled, “How to Kill a Federal Judge” at a public library.

Robert Phillip Ivers, 72, who was previously convicted in 2019 of threatening to kill a federal judge, showed library staff the 236-page manifesto, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota said in a statement Tuesday.

He also shared a three-page flyer that said the manifesto was designed to “teach extremists on how to plan, train, hunt, stalk, and kill anyone including judges, their family members, politicians and more!” according to the office.

“Ivers’s threats are bone chilling. After the past few months, we are not taking chances,” said Acting US Attorney Joseph H. Thompson in the statement. “When someone threatens our community, we believe them, and we will act swiftly to protect Minnesotans.”

Minnesota has been the site in recent months of a mass shooting at a Catholic church in Minneapolis that left two children dead and 19 other people injured as well as the murder of Minnesota state representative Melissa Hortman and her husband in their home.

Ivers also had been reported for concerning behavior at a Minnetonka, Minnesota church where he allegedly told members that he planned to attend several upcoming programs, according to an affidavit from an FBI special agent filed in the case in federal court.

After searching Ivers’ vehicle, law enforcement found 20 copies of his manifesto, which has a handwritten cover page with a photo of man holding a rifle, as well as lists of federal judges and a photo of a former pope with crosshairs centered on it, according to the FBI agent’s affidavit. He was taken into custody on Sept. 5.

In his manifesto, the US attorney’s office statement said Ivers “fixated” on the unnamed federal judge who presided over his federal trial and another unnamed federal judge who he was previously convicted of threatening to kill.

“Ivers fixated on the perceived wrongs done to him by the judicial system,” the FBI agent’s affidavit said. “He discussed these wrongs — and his revenge — at length.”

Ivers also threatened a defense attorney who gave testimony against him at his trial and had received a copy of his manifesto in the mail. The defense attorney “was concerned and explained that she believed that Ivers posed a serious risk to her and her family,” the FBI agent’s affidavit said.