The California man, who was arrested outside the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh last week, was charged by a federal jury with attempted murder.
Nicholas John Roske, 26, of Simi Valley, was found with a gun, knife and pepper spray outside Kavanaugh’s Maryland home. Prosecutors said Wednesday that he told police he was planning to kill Justice.
Prosecutors said Roske traveled across the country to Chevy Chase, Maryland, on the opinion of a leaked Supreme Court draft intended to kill Kavanaugh in Roe v. Wade was expected to reverse. He also believed that Kavanaugh would vote to loosen gun control laws after the school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and two teachers were killed.
Prosecutors said that after killing Kavanaugh, he planned to kill himself.
He came to Kavanaugh’s home in a taxi just after 1 a.m. on June 8, carrying legally purchased Glock 17 pistols and ammunition, tactical gear, pepper spray, a thermal monocular, a laser and other stolen equipment. There was a suitcase full of ,
When he got out of the taxi, he was spotted by two US marshals stationed outside Justice’s home, who were providing round-the-clock security after protests at Justice’s homes following the leak of the Roe v. Wade ruling.
When he saw Marshall standing next to his parked vehicle, he walked down the block and called 911 and told an operator that he had “suicidal thoughts”, had a shotgun on him and that Kavanaugh wanted to kill
Roske was still on the phone when Montgomery County Police arrived and took him into custody.
He reportedly said officers planned to kill the conservative justice after finding his address online in an unfortunate bid to “give his life a purpose.”
During Roske’s first court appearance on the same day of his arrest in Greenbelt, a judge asked him whether he understood what was happening and whether he was thinking clearly. Roske paused before answering.
“I think I have a fair understanding, but I wouldn’t say I’m thinking clearly,” he told the judge.
She told the judge that she was a college graduate and on medication, but did not say what kind or why.
Roske is being represented by Andrew Szekely, a public defender, and remains in federal custody in Maryland.
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill providing additional protection to Supreme Court judges and their families. The Senate unanimously passed the Supreme Court Police Parity Act last month, but it stalled in the House as Democrats sought to broaden the measure to include protections for the families of court staff.
After the attempted assassination of Roske on Kavanaugh, Republicans increased pressure to pass the bill.
