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5h ago

Kavanaugh Would-Be Assassin Gets 8 Years as Judge Cites Self-Reporting, Remorse

Prosecutors sought at least 30 years to send a deterrent message about threats to the judiciary.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh listens to remarks at U.S. Vice President JD Vance's residence during a visit by Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Micheal Martin, ahead of St. Patrick's Day, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 12, 2025. REUTERS/Leah Millis
FILE - Supreme Court Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh is seen at the Capitol on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 3, 2018. Nicholas John Roske, the California man accused of plotting to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, had a more expansive goal to change the makeup of the Supreme Court in discussions he had in online chat rooms, according to a recent federal court filing. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)
FILE - Members of the Supreme Court sit for a new group portrait following the addition of Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, at the Supreme Court building in Washington, Oct. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
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Overview

  • U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman sentenced Sophie Roske to 97 months in prison and lifetime supervised release for the 2022 attempted assassination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
  • Prosecutors argued the plot amounted to terrorism intended to alter the Supreme Court, urged a minimum 30-year term, and noted a recent threat to Kavanaugh that referenced Roske.
  • The judge credited Roske’s 911 call, cooperation, lack of criminal history, and sincere remorse, emphasizing that law enforcement learned of the plot only because Roske self-reported.
  • Roske, who identifies as a transgender woman, will be housed in a male federal facility, and the judge said custody and safety considerations for transgender inmates factored into the sentence.
  • Roske pleaded guilty in April; court records say she researched multiple justices, bought a Glock 17 and tools, and told investigators she was motivated by the Dobbs draft leak and the Uvalde shooting.