The California man who was arrested outside of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh home last week was indicted by a federal jury for on a charge of attempted assassination.
Nicholas John Roske, 26, of Simi Valley, was found outside of Kavanaugh’s Maryland home with a gun, knife and pepper spray. He told police that he was planning to kill the justice, prosecutors said on Wednesday.
Prosecutors said Roske traveled across the country to Chevy Chase, Maryland with the intent to kill Kavanaugh over the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion expected to overturn Roe v. Wade. He also believed Kavanaugh would vote to loosen gun control laws after the school massacre in Uvalde, Texas where 19 kids and two teachers were killed.
After he killed Kavanaugh, he planned to kill himself, prosecutors said.
He pulled up to Kavanaugh’s house in a taxi just after 1 a.m. on June 8 dressed in all black with a suitcase loaded with a legally purchased glock 17 pistol and ammunition, tactical gear, pepper spray, a thermal monocular, a laser and other burglary tools.
When he got out of the taxi, he was spotted by two U.S. Marshals stationed outside of the justice’s house who were providing around-the-clock security following protests at justices’ homes after the Roe v. Wade’s decision leaked.
When he noticed the marshals who were standing next to their parked vehicle in the he walked down the block and called 911 and told an operator he was having “suicidal thoughts,” had a firearm on him and wanted to kill Kavanaugh.
Roske was still on the phone when Montgomery County cops arrived on the scene and took him into custody.
He allegedly told authorities hatched a plan to kill the conservative justice after finding his address online in an ill-fated 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 if he understood what was happening and if he was thinking clearly. Roske paused before answering.
“I think I have a reasonable understanding, but I wouldn’t say I’m thinking clearly,” he said to the judge.
He told the judge he is a college graduate and is on medication but didn’t elaborate on 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 security to Supreme Court justices and their families. The Senate passed the Supreme Court Police Parity Act unanimously last month, but it stalled in the House as Democrats sought to broaden the measure to include protection for families of court employees.
After Roske’s assassination attempt on Kavanaugh, Republicans ramped up pressure to get the bill passed.
