A man was charged with threatening to kill a federal judge after already being convicted once of the same crime, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Tuesday in Minneapolis.
Robert Phillip Ivers, 72, was charged with threatening to assault and murder a federal judge, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson. Ivers was federally convicted in 2018 of threatening to kill a U.S. district judge. At the time, Ivers was living in West Fargo, N.D., but he had previously run for mayor in Hopkins.
“At a time when Minnesota is reeling from acts of violence, the last thing we need is someone spreading fear into our churches, libraries, and courts,” Thompson said in a statement. “Ivers’s threats are bone chilling. After the past few months, we are not taking chances. When someone threatens our community, we believe them, and we will act swiftly to protect Minnesotans.”
The criminal complaint gave the following details of what led up to the latest charge:
On Sept. 3, Ivers was allegedly caught printing copies of a manifesto called “How To Kill a Federal Judge” at the Wayzata Public Library and showing them to library staff, including a page that talked about killing children and had a picture of a gun on it. He also gave library staff a three-page flyer that advertised his manifesto and said that the document was “designed to teach extremists on how to plan, train, hunt, stalk and kill anyone including judges, their family members, politicians and more!”
The flyer said that the “harsh reality is that judges are going to die.”
After library staff reported the encounter to police, investigators discovered that Ivers had been reported for “concerning behavior” while at an Episcopal church in Minnetonka on Aug. 28, which was a day after the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis.
He allegedly attended multiple church services and told parishioners he would be attending future church events, such as a family picnic and potluck, a blessing for children going back to school that had state lawmakers scheduled to attend, and an annual baptism service.
After searching his name online, church staff saw that he had a history of threats of violence, a felony conviction and racist commentary so they contacted law enforcement.
While he was on the way to jail after his arrest on the evening of Sept. 3, Ivers told Wayzata officers he was having a heart attack, so they brought him to the hospital from the jail. He was later released from the hospital and rearrested on Sept. 5.
During a search of his vehicle they found numerous items, including a photo of the former pope with cross hairs centered on his head; 20 copies of a 236-page spiral-bound book called “How to Kill a Federal Judge” by Robert Ivers; several flyers advertising the book; a list of federal judges; a copy of the “Anarchist Cookbook”; a white foam box with a toy replica firearm; a box of Co2 cartridges and pellets; and a box of fireworks.
During an interview with detectives, Ivers admitted showing his manifesto to library staff. When asked if he thought his book might have scared anybody, Ivers allegedly shouted, “It was supposed to!”
In the manifesto, Ivers wrote about perceived wrongs he believed had been done to him by the judicial system. He discussed them — and his anticipated revenge — at length, authorities said in the criminal complaint.
The manifesto also had disturbing sketches Ivers had allegedly drawn and handwritten threats to kill judges, their children and pets, the complaint said.
“Ivers made clear his purpose was to instill fear. He wrote, ‘If this book doesn’t instill fear in you then your (sic) already dead.’”
The manifesto contained names of federal judges and it appeared that Ivers was “fixated” on the judge who had ruled against him in his lawsuit against an insurance company, leading to his 2018 conviction.
“These actions will not be tolerated,” said Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of the FBI in Minneapolis. “As this chilling case confirms, we are fully committed to protecting judges who devote themselves to our communities and legal system.”
Ivers made his first court appearance Tuesday.
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