Wayzata Man Indicted For Threats To Kill Supreme Court Justice, Judge

WAYZATA, MN — A 72-year-old Minnesota man has been indicted on federal charges after authorities say he threatened to murder a Supreme Court justice and a federal judge, and printed a 236-page manifesto titled “How to Kill a Federal Judge” at the Wayzata Library earlier this month.

According to prosecutors, Robert Phillip Ivers faces a three-count indictment for threatening to assault and murder a Supreme Court justice and a federal judge, as well as transmitting threats against others, including a defense attorney.

Officials say the case underscores the seriousness of threats directed at the nation’s highest court.

Ivers was previously convicted in 2019 of threatening to kill a federal judge.

Manifesto Printed At Wayzata Library

On Sept. 3, police responded to the Wayzata Library after staff reported a man printing copies of a manifesto.

Investigators said the 236-page document, authored by Ivers, included disturbing sketches, handwritten threats, and instructions on targeting judges, their families, politicians, and others.

Library staff told police Ivers showed them a page about killing children alongside a gun image and handed out a flyer advertising the manifesto. The flyer claimed the book was designed to teach extremists “how to plan, train, hunt, stalk and kill” and warned that “the harsh reality is that judges are going to die.”

Search Finds Disturbing Material

Wayzata officers arrested Ivers that evening. During transport, he claimed to be having a heart attack and was taken to a hospital before being released.

A search of his vehicle later uncovered twenty spiral-bound copies of the manifesto, multiple flyers, lists of federal judges, a copy of the “Anarchist Cookbook,” a photo of a former pope with crosshairs drawn over the head, a toy replica firearm with CO₂ cartridges and pellets, and a box of fireworks.

Police re-arrested Ivers on Sept. 5. In a subsequent interview, he admitted showing the manifesto to library staff and, when asked if he thought the book would scare people, shouted, “It was supposed to!”

Warning Signs Before Arrest

Prosecutors also noted that, days earlier, staff at an Episcopal church in Minnetonka reported Ivers’s concerning behavior. He had told church members he planned to attend upcoming events where state legislators would be present. After discovering his past threats and convictions, church leaders alerted police.

Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson said in a statement that threats to kill a Supreme Court justice, a federal judge, and a defense attorney represent “direct attacks on the rule of law.”

The FBI, Wayzata Police Department, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and U.S. Marshals Service investigated the case. Ivers made his first court appearance this week and remains in custody pending a detention hearing. Assistant U.S. Attorney Melinda A. Williams is prosecuting the case.