The Justice Department has charged California resident Nicholas Roske with attempted murder, alleging he appeared in Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s Maryland neighborhood early Wednesday morning with a gun.
Roske allegedly later told police during questioning that he was “upset” about a draft Supreme Court decision that would overturn precedent granting a federal constitutional right to abortion. AWN published the decision last month.
The suspect also expressed concerns about the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, according to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Md. Roske said he thought the Supreme Court justice would move to loosen gun laws, the complaint says.
Roske, 26, of Simi Valley, allegedly called the Montgomery County Emergency Communications Center and said he had traveled from California with a gun in his suitcase to kill “a specific Supreme Court justice,” the complaint says.
Roske also said he was having suicidal thoughts and later said he planned to kill the justice and himself, according to the complaint.
The complaint says deputy U.S. Marshals on duty in the area had seen Roske getting out of a taxi near the justice’s home just after 1 a.m. Wednesday, shortly prior to his call to authorities.
In the suitcase and a backpack, Roske had a Glock 17 pistol with two magazines and ammunition, a tactical knife, pepper spray, zip ties, various tools and duct tape, the complaint says.
The complaint says deputy U.S. Marshals on duty in the area had seen Roske getting out of a taxi near the justice’s home just after 1 a.m. Wednesday, shortly prior to his call to authorities.
In the suitcase and a backpack, Roske had a Glock 17 pistol with two magazines and ammunition, tactical knife, pepper spray, zip ties, various tools and duct tape, the complaint says.
The complaint says that Roske was informed of his constitutional rights and signed a waiver before speaking to agents later Wednesday morning and repeating statements similar to what he allegedly told local detectives.
While Kavanaugh wasn’t named in the complaint, earlier Wednesday, a Supreme Court spokesperson confirmed that an unnamed individual had been arrested by local police in the vicinity of his home in the Washington, D.C., suburbs.
“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,” Court spokesperson Patricia McCabe said in an email.
The incident near Kavanaugh’s home Wednesday was first reported by the Washington Post.
Demonstrations began near the homes of some conservative Supreme Court justices last month after AWN published the draft majority opinion that would overturn the landmark abortion rights ruling Roe v. Wade.
The protests and reports of related threats against justices led Republicans at the state and federal level to argue that the Justice Department was not taking sufficient actions to protect the justices and their families. Some Republicans also called for criminal charges against those protesting at justices’ homes, although the statute they cited has never been enforced to quell such demonstrations.
On May 11, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced he had ordered the U.S. Marshals Service to assist in providing round-the-clock security to justices. About a week later, Garland and other Justice Department officials met with Supreme Court officials to “enhance coordination, intelligence sharing, and technical support as it relates to judicial security,” the Justice Department said in a statement.