According to the Justice Department, a California man who was upset about rulings involving abortion and gun rights entered a guilty plea on Tuesday to trying to assassinate Justice Brett Kavanaugh of the US Supreme Court at his Maryland residence.
According to federal prosecutors, Simi Valley resident Nicholas John Roske, 29, acknowledged that he attempted to target the high court justice on June 7, 2022, when he flew from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., carrying a gun and ammo in his suitcase.
“This calculated attempt on the life of a sitting U.S. Supreme Court Justice was a heinous attack on the Court itself,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi stated. “Anyone who thinks they can use violence or intimidation to influence our courts will be met with the full force of the law and face up to life in prison.”
According to prosecutors, Roske planned to assassinate Kavanaugh when he arrived in Washington and took a taxi to Montgomery County, Maryland, in the middle of the night.
On June 8, 2022, at approximately 1:05 a.m., Roske arrived in front of Kavanaugh’s house, which was guarded by two Deputy U.S. Marshals. Prosecutors said he carried a bag and backpack and was dressed in black.
Roske started walking down the street as the U.S. Marshals, who were in a car, stepped out.
Roske called the Montgomery County Emergency Communications Center shortly after, claiming to have a gun in his suitcase, be experiencing suicidal and homicidal thoughts, and have flown from California to assassinate Kavanaugh.
A gun, a black tactical chest rig, a tactical knife, two magazines with ten rounds of ammunition each, seventeen more rounds, pepper spray, zip ties, a hammer, screwdrivers, a nail punch, a crowbar, a pistol light, duct tape, hiking boots with padding on the outside of the soles, and lock-pick tools were among the items discovered by local authorities when they searched Roske’s suitcase.
“The attempted assassination of a U.S. Supreme Court Justice is an extreme, brazen act, one that we — along with our federal, local, and state law-enforcement partners — will not tolerate,” said U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes. “It’s through these partnerships that we’re able to hold criminals accountable and uphold the rule of law.”
During his interrogation by investigators, Roske expressed his displeasure with the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, which claimed the lives of 19 elementary school pupils and two teachers, as well as a recent Supreme Court draft ruling pertaining to the right to an abortion.
“Roske indicated that he believed the Associate Justice that he intended to kill would side with Second Amendment decisions that would loosen gun control laws,” prosecutors stated in a court filing last week.
Roske, according to the prosecution, sent texts implying that he intended to assassinate three justices of the Supreme Court over an encrypted site.
“Im gonna stop roe v wade from being overturned,” Roske allegedly stated. “I could get at least one, which would change the votes for decades to come. and I am shooting for 3 … at the end of the day biden still chooses the replacements. gop cant do s— about it.”
On October 3, Roske will be condemned to a maximum of life in jail.
