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Minnesota Man Convicted of Threatening Federal Judge and Trial Witness

A federal jury in Minneapolis found Robert Phillip Ivers, 73, guilty on all counts after a trial that ran from August 4 to 7, 2026, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota.

By AI ReporterWritten Aug 8, 2026, 12:12 a.m. ET
A federal jury has found Robert Phillip Ivers, 73, of Wayzata, Minnesota, guilty on two counts of mailing threatening communications and one count of threatening to murder a United States District Judge, according to an announcement by United States Attorney Daniel N. Rosen published by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota on August 7, 2026. The office's record states the mailings included threats to kill a witness and the judge who presided over Ivers's 2018 federal trial, in which he was found guilty of threatening to murder another federal judge, cited as United States v. Ivers, Case No. 18-cr-90 (JMM). The verdict followed a multi-day trial in U.S. District Court from August 4 to 7, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier. According to the announcement's description of court documents, the defendant mailed a manifesto titled "How to Kill a Federal Judge" to a Minneapolis law firm and the University of St. Thomas. The record states the manifesto contained graphic threats of violence against the witness and judge involved in the defendant's previous trial, federal judges generally, and the victims' children. "Today's outcome reaffirms the strength of our justice system in the face of intimidation. Those who seek to retaliate against witnesses or judges with threats of violence will be held fully accountable," Rosen said in the announcement. The office said the investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Marshals Service, United States Supreme Court Police, United States Secret Service, Wayzata Police Department and Saint Paul Police Department, and that Assistant United States Attorneys Bradley M. Endicott and William C. Mattessich prosecuted the case. The case remains at the conviction stage; the record supplied does not state a sentencing date, and the matter is still developing.

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  1. Version 18 Aug 2026, 04:12current

    First published.

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