Man who threatened three judges arrested after armed standoff

A man is in custody after threatening three judges who were involved in his divorce and child custody dispute, the St. Louis County Circuit Court said in a press release.

Jeffrey D. Reuter, 51, formerly a dentist in Kirkwood, was arrested Dec. 11 in Bonne Terre after a three-hour armed standoff with police attempting to serve him with a warrant, according to the court. Reuter has been charged with three counts of interfering with a judicial officer. The court also said federal weapons charges are pending.

The court said Reuter went to the homes of the judges on Dec. 7 to hand-deliver an “anti-government manifesto” demanding they pay him $2.5 million, give him shared custody of his daughter, vacate previous judgments against him since 2012, purge all cases in which he has been involved from the state files and write a letter of apology to his daughter.

“Failure to satisfy these demands will compel me to take pre-emptive, defensive measures against … further unlawful conduct on your part,” Reuter wrote. “You have until midnight, Dec. 31, 2019 to comply… Be advised … immunity is not available to you this go-around.”

Reuter delivered his manifestos shortly before an order of protection obtained by his ex-wife was set to expire on Dec. 11, according to court records. The order of protection entered in 2017 prohibited him from being within 1,000 feet of her, from having any contact with their daughter and from having a firearm. He has represented himself in previous court actions.

The court said Reuter’s criminal case and his pending domestic matters have been reassigned to judges from another circuit. Reuter’s cash-only bond was set at $150,000.