California Man Admits Trying To Kill Justice Kavanaugh, Faces Long Term

A California man pleaded guilty on Tuesday to trying to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh at his home in a suburb of Washington, D.C., nearly three years ago. Nicholas John Roske was arrested near Kavanagh's home in Chevy Chase, Md., in June 2022. He was armed with a gun and a knife, was carrying zip ties and was dressed in black when he arrived in the neighborhood by taxi just after 1 a.m.. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman is scheduled to sentence Roske on Oct. 3. Federal sentencing guidelines call for a term of 30 years to life in prison, the Associated Press reports.

Roske, 29, of Simi Valley, Calif., pleaded guilty to attempting to murder a justice of the United States without reaching a plea agreement with federal prosecutors. A trial for Roske had been scheduled to start on June 9. Roske told a police detective that he was upset about a leaked draft opinion suggesting the Supreme Court intended to overrule Roe v. Wade. Killing one judge could change the decisions of the nine-member court “for decades to come,” Roske wrote over an encrypted messaging platform to another user. Roske added, “I am shooting for 3.” The leaked opinion draft led to protests at several justices’ homes.