A California man was arrested early Wednesday after he traveled to the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh armed with a gun, burglary tools, and a plan to kill Kavanaugh in order “to give his life a purpose,” prosecutors alleged in a criminal complaint.
Nicholas John Roske, a 26-year-old from Simi Valley, took a taxi to Kavanaugh’s Maryland home and was armed with a Glock 17 handgun, a knife, pepper spray, zip ties, a nail punch, a crow bar and a hammer, the complaint says.
He allegedly admitted to officers that he singled out Kavanaugh over the leaked draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, which affirms the right to abortion. He also allegedly said he was angry about recent mass shootings, and feared Kavanaugh would further weaken gun control laws.
The complaint says Roske admitted to federal agents that he traveled from California to bust into Kavanaugh’s home, kill him and then take his own life. But he ditched his initial plan upon arrival.
Roske got out of a taxi in front of Kavanaugh’s home just before 2 a.m. Wednesday with a suitcase in hand and looked at two U.S. Marshals, who were standing guard nearby. The complaint says Roske then walked down the street and called 911 to admit he was armed and suicidal.
The Marshals took him into custody without incident and transported him to the Montgomery County Police Department’s Second District Precinct, where he allegedly confessed to the foiled plan.
“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,” the complaint says.
He allegedly admitted purchasing the handgun solely to shoot the conservative justice. The 26-year-old is now charged with attempting to murder a U.S. Supreme Court Justice. He is scheduled to make his first appearance in federal court on Wednesday afternoon.
Security had been increased around Supreme Court justices’ homes after the bombshell Roe v. Wade draft was leaked to Politico in early May.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan thanked US Marshals and Montgomery County Police for “acting quickly to apprehend the suspect and prevent him from causing any harm.”