On September 3, 2025, an ordinary afternoon at the Wayzata Library in Minnesota was abruptly interrupted when staff noticed a man printing off stacks of a manifesto ominously titled, "How to Kill a Federal Judge." The man, identified as 72-year-old Robert Phillip Ivers, didn’t try to hide what he was doing. In fact, he showed his work to library staff, even presenting a page that discussed killing children and featured a picture of a gun. As if that wasn’t alarming enough, he handed out flyers advertising his manifesto, each one boldly proclaiming it was designed "to teach extremists how to plan, train, hunt, stalk, and kill anyone including judges, their family members, politicians, and more!"
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota, the situation escalated quickly from there. Staff at the library, deeply unsettled, alerted law enforcement. When officers arrived, they found Ivers had left behind not just the flyers but a palpable sense of fear. The flyers themselves warned, "the harsh reality is that judges are going to die." The chilling intent was hard to ignore.
But this was not the first time Ivers had raised red flags. Just days earlier, on August 28, 2025, staff at an Episcopal church in Minnetonka, Minnesota, had reported Ivers for "concerning behavior." He had attended several church services, telling congregants he planned to come back for upcoming events, including a family picnic, a blessing of children returning to school (with state legislators scheduled to attend), and a baptism service. Disturbed by his presence and his comments, church staff did some online digging. What they found was troubling: a history of violence, a felony conviction, and racist commentary. They promptly contacted law enforcement.
That evening of September 3, the Wayzata Police Department tracked down Ivers. During his arrest, he complained of having a heart attack and was transported to the hospital. He was released later that night, but authorities were far from done with their investigation. A search of his vehicle revealed a cache of disturbing items: twenty spiral-bound copies of his manifesto, multiple flyers, lists of federal judges, a photograph of the former Pope with crosshairs centered on his head, a copy of the Anarchist Cookbook, a toy replica firearm, a box of Co2 cartridges, a container of pellets, and even a box of fireworks.
The next day, Ivers was re-arrested by the Wayzata Police Department. During an interview, he readily admitted to showing the manifesto to library staff. When law enforcement asked if he thought his book would have scared anyone, Ivers shouted, "It was supposed to!" as reported by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. This was not bravado for its own sake; his 236-page manifesto, adorned with a cover photo of a man holding a rifle, was a detailed and deeply personal account of perceived wrongs done to him by the judicial system, along with his plans for revenge. The document contained a disturbing assortment of writings and sketches, many apparently drawn by Ivers himself, and handwritten threats to kill federal judges, their children, and even their pets.
Names of numerous federal judges appeared throughout the manifesto, but Ivers fixated on two in particular: one who had presided over his federal trial, and another whom he had previously threatened. In fact, his criminal history included a 2019 federal conviction for threatening to kill a judge in Minnesota, a fact that had already put him on law enforcement’s radar.
On September 15, 2025, a federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment against Ivers. The charges: threatening to assault and kill a federal judge and a Supreme Court Justice, as well as interstate transmission of threats to injure others, including a defense attorney. According to Reuters, while the U.S. Attorney’s Office did not specify which Supreme Court Justice was targeted, Ivers’s defense attorney identified the intended victim as Chief Justice John Roberts.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson did not mince words in his public statement. "Threats to murder a federal judge, a Supreme Court Justice, and a defense attorney are not just words on a page. They are direct attacks on the rule of law," Thompson declared. "We will not allow violent rhetoric to become routine. When someone threatens our judges, we will answer with swift federal prosecution."
The investigation that led to Ivers’s arrest was a collaborative effort involving the FBI, the Wayzata Police Department, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and the United States Marshals Service. The U.S. Attorney’s Offices for both Minnesota and North Dakota, along with the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, provided crucial support. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Melinda A. Williams.
In court, Ivers made his initial appearance on September 9, 2025, and is currently being held in custody pending a detention hearing expected to take place next week. The indictment is, of course, only an allegation at this stage, and as the U.S. Attorney’s Office reminds the public, the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
As the details of this case emerged, it became clear that Ivers’s actions were not isolated or impulsive. His manifesto, with its explicit instructions and disturbing sketches, was not just a personal vendetta; it was a call to violence aimed at undermining the judiciary and the rule of law itself. The inclusion of threats against children and pets, as well as public figures like Chief Justice John Roberts, underscored the seriousness of the threat.
The ripple effects of such threats extend beyond the individuals named in the manifesto. The safety of judges, their families, and the broader judicial community is a foundational element of a functioning democracy. When those tasked with upholding the law become targets, it sends a chilling message—not just to the judiciary, but to the public at large.
Yet, the rapid response from law enforcement and the strong stance taken by federal prosecutors suggest that the justice system is prepared to defend itself against such attacks. The case against Ivers will now proceed through the courts, where the full scope of his actions—and the consequences—will be examined in detail.
For now, the community in Wayzata, the legal profession, and indeed the nation are left to grapple with the unsettling reality that threats against the judiciary are not just hypothetical. But as this case demonstrates, such threats will be met with decisive action and the full weight of the law.