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A California man armed with a Glock pistol and other weapons was arrested near Brett Kavanaugh‘s Chevy Chase, Maryland, home, telling officers after he was arrested that he wanted to kill the Supreme Court justice.
The man, Nicholas John Roske, was arrested in the early hours of Wednesday morning. FBI special agent Ian Montijo wrote an affidavit detailing Roske’s confessed intention to murder Kavanaugh and then commit suicide.
The FBI agent said his affidavit was submitted “in support of a criminal complaint charging Nicholas John Roske with attempt to murder a United States Supreme Court Justice.”
The court filing said Roske was dropped off outside of Kavanaugh’s home at 1:05 a.m. carrying a backpack and suitcase, saw two U.S. deputy marshals standing guard, turned and walked down the street, and then called a Montgomery County police hotline to say he had suicidal thoughts. He was quickly arrested by police and taken to a police district, where he was read his rights and agreed to talk to agents.
“Roske then told the detective 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,” the FBI said. “Roske indicated that the Justice that he intended to kill would side with Second Amendment decisions that would loosen gun control laws.”
The FBI agent added: “Roske stated that he began thinking about how to give his life a purpose and decided that he would kill the Supreme Court Justice after finding the Justice’s Montgomery County address on the Internet. Roske further indicated that he had purchased the Glock pistol and the other items for the purpose of breaking into the Justice’s residence and killing the Justice as well as himself.”
The FBI said it searched Roske’s backpack and suitcase and found a black tactical chest rig and tactical knife, a Glock 17 pistol with two magazines and ammunition, pepper spray, zip ties, a hammer, screwdriver, nail punch, crow bar, pistol light, duct tape, hiking boots with padding on the outside of the soles, and other items.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Maryland announced that Roske had been hit with federal charges of “attempted murder of a Supreme Court Justice.” He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted.
The Washington Examiner was present in the Greenbelt, Maryland, federal courtroom where Roske made his initial appearance. He is being represented by Andrew Szekely, a federal public defender. Roske agreed to remain in custody for now but can attempt to revisit that decision in a future hearing.
Kathleen Gavin, the chief of the national security and cybercrime section at the Maryland U.S. attorney’s office, represented the Justice Department in the hearing in front of Magistrate Judge Timothy Sullivan.
Sullivan asked whether Roske understood the charges against him on Wednesday; the defendant spoke briefly with his lawyer and then replied, “I think I have a reasonable understanding.”
“At approximately 1:50 a.m. today, a man was arrested near Justice Kavanaugh’s residence. The man was armed and made threats against Justice Kavanaugh. He was transported to Montgomery County Police 2nd District,” Supreme Court spokeswoman Patricia McCabe told the Washington Examiner.
The police department confirmed the arrest just after 12:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday and said the case would be transferred to the FBI, according to a statement obtained by the Washington Examiner.
CHIEF JUSTICE ORDERS INVESTIGATION INTO DOBBS DRAFT LEAK
Unmarked security vehicles were also spotted outside the justice’s home early Wednesday.
Several Republican lawmakers immediately condemned the threat at Kavanaugh’s home, repeating previous calls for punishment over the draft leak. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) tweeted Wednesday that President Joe Biden should “condemn illegal protesting at justices’ homes, and pledge to protect every member of the Court from these escalating and dangerous threats.”
“Attacks on and threats toward Supreme Court officials have gone on for too long,” Lee added.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, lauded the Montgomery County Police Department for “quickly acting to apprehend the suspect,” noting that he and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, also a Republican, “will continue to partner with both federal and local law enforcement officials to help ensure these residential areas are secure.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said the “disturbing” incident evinces why the Senate unanimously passed the Supreme Court security bill weeks ago that was later blocked in the Democratic-controlled House.
The bill, introduced by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), would provide police protection to the immediate families of all nine justices and other officers of the court if the high court marshal determines such protections are necessary.
“House Democrats have inexplicably blocked it. House Democrats need to stop their blockade and pass this uncontroversial bill today,” McConnell said.
The Supreme Court started an investigation into last month’s leak of its opinion apparently overturning Roe v. Wade and more recently began searches into mobile phone data for high court clerks and required them to sign legal affidavits as part of the investigation. The leak drew protesters to the homes of Kavanaugh, Alito, and Chief Justice John Roberts in May.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The threat at Kavanaugh’s home comes one day after the Department of Homeland Security rebuffed a “heightened” terrorism advisory ahead of the Supreme Court’s expected reversal of the nation’s landmark abortion rights ruling.
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