The federal government has asked a judge to sentence the person who tried to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh’s to 30 years in prison to life.
In a 34-page sentencing memo filed on Friday, the government said Nicholas Roske planned to assassinate Justice Kavanaugh and potentially two others, detailing how many times he searched for their home addresses and information on the app Discord about what would happen if a specific justice were to be killed.
In a court document from Roske’s attorneys, they identified him as “Sophie Roske” and “Ms. Roske” — suggesting the attempted assassin is now identifying as a woman.
Roske had used Discord to communicate about the potential killings and also searched terms online like “insanity defense.”
“Nicholas Roske, disagreeing with that bedrock principle of our system of government, attempted to overrule that principle of judicial independence through judicial assassination,” the filing read.
Some of Roske’s searches and messages included:
“[W]hat do you think would happen if [last name of Associate Justice] died?”
“Also the right have a 5-4 majority so if one conservative justice dies then it becomes a 5-4 for the left”
“countries least likely to extradite to the us”
“[Y]eah but i could get at least one, which would change the votes for decades to come. [A]nd I am shooting for 3”
“[P]eople have killed judges before”
“how much force do you need to stab someone’s neck” and “most effective way to silently kill someone”
“does twisting or dragging a knife cause more damage” and “how to break a lock”
Roske, a California man, pleaded guilty earlier this year in a plot to kill Justice Kavanaugh. He was angered by the GOP majority on the court’s pending rulings on abortion and the Second Amendment in 2022.
Roske, 29, has been in custody since he called police and reported himself outside of Justice Kavanaugh’s Chevy Chase, Maryland, home.
On June 8, 2022, U.S. marshals stationed outside the justice’s home spotted Roske as he exited a taxi.
The defendant then walked down the road and called 911 on himself. He said he had traveled from his home in Simi Valley, California, to kill a justice, had a firearm in his suitcase and was having suicidal thoughts, authorities said.
Local police arrived and arrested Mr. Roske. They reported finding in his gear a Glock 17 pistol, tactical vest, tactical knife, ammunition, pepper spray, zip ties and tools, including a crowbar, according to court documents.
Police said Mr. Roske confessed to being angry that the court seemed poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, which established a nationwide right to abortion, and was upset about the way he thought Justice Kavanaugh would rule in that and gun-rights cases.
The defendant planned to kill Justice Kavanaugh to give his life a purpose, he told police at the time.
• Matt Delaney contributed to this story.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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