Man Arrested Near Justice Kavanaugh’s Home Faces Attempted Murder Charge

WASHINGTON — A California man who had allegedly made threats against Justice Brett Kavanaugh and was arrested early Wednesday morning near the justice’s Maryland home, has been charged with attempted murder of a Supreme Court justice.

Nicholas John Roske, age 26, of Simi Valley, California, was scheduled to make an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy Sullivan in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, Wednesday afternoon. 

The criminal complaint against him was announced by U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron, FBI Special Agent Thomas Sobocinski, Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones, and U.S. Marshal Johnny Hughes, shortly beforehand.

According to an affidavit filed to support the criminal complaint, at about 1:05 a.m. Wednesday morning, two U.S. Deputy Marshalls saw an individual dressed in black clothing and carrying a backpack and a suitcase, get out of a taxicab that had stopped in front of the Kavanaugh residence.

“The individual looked at the two Deputy U.S. Marshals, who were standing next to their parked vehicle, and then turned to walk down the street,” the affidavit said.

A short time later, the Montgomery County Emergency Communications Center received a call from Roske, who allegedly informed the dispatcher that he was having suicidal thoughts and had a firearm in his suitcase.

Roske also allegedly stated that he traveled from California to Maryland to kill a specific Supreme Court justice. 

Montgomery County Police Department officers were dispatched to the location near the residence where they encountered Roske, who was still on the telephone with the dispatcher. Roske was taken into custody and law enforcement officers seized the backpack and the suitcase that were still in his possession.

According to the affidavit, a search of the suitcase and backpack revealed a black tactical chest rig and tactical knife, a pistol with two magazines and ammunition, pepper spray, zip ties, a hammer, screwdriver, nail punch, crowbar, pistol light, duct tape, hiking boots with padding on the outside of the soles, and other items.

Roske was transported to the Montgomery County Police Department where, after being advised of his constitutional rights, he allegedly told detectives that he was upset about the leak of a recent Supreme Court draft decision regarding the right to abortion as well as the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. 

If convicted, Roske faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.  

Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue