Man Guilty Of Trying To Kill Supreme Court Justice In MD

CHEVY CHASE, MD — A 29-year-old California man pleaded guilty this week to trying to kill U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, according to authorities.

Nicholas John Roske flew from Los Angeles to the Washington D.C. area on June 7, 2022, with a gun and ammunition in his checked baggage. He then took a taxi to Kavanaugh’s suburban home in Chevy Chase, authorities said.

He arrived around 1 a.m. on June 8, 2022, and was seen wearing black clothing as he left the taxi by two deputy U.S. marshals protecting the home, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Roske walked down the street and contacted emergency personnel, telling them he was having homicidal and suicidal thoughts and that he had flown from California to kill the justice, authorities said.

Police responded to the scene and took him into custody, according to the department, which noted Roske told authorities he was upset about the leaked draft of the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe vs. Wade as well as the school massacre in Uvalde, Texas. He believed Kavanaugh would vote to loosen gun control laws, according to prosecutors.

“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 said in a department news release. “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.”

Roske is set to be sentenced Oct. 3, according to the department.

The guilty plea was not part of a plea deal with prosecutors. In entering his guilty plea, Roske acknowledged that he could face a sentence of life in prison and that he would likely have been convicted if his case went to trial before a jury.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.