A California man arrested Wednesday while armed with a handgun and ammunition, a knife, pepper spray and burglary tools told police he traveled to the Maryland home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to kill him, court records revealed.
The man, 26-year-old Nicholas John Roske, after being apprehended a block away from Kavanaugh’s residence, also told cops he was upset over the likelihood of the Supreme Court soon overturning the constitutional right to abortion, and the elementary school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, those records show.
“Roske stated that he began thinking about how to give his life a purpose and decided that he would kill the Supreme Court Justice [Kavanaugh] after finding the Justice’s Montgomery County address on the Internet,” FBI Special Agent Ian Montijo wrote in an affidavit.
“Roske further indicated that he had purchased [a] Glock pistol and other items for the purpose of breaking into the Justice’s residence and killing the Justice as well as himself,” the agent wrote.
Roske, who lives in Simi Valley, is being charged with one count of attempted murder of a Supreme Court justice. He faces a possible maximum prison sentence of 20 years if convicted.
During a brief appearance Wednesday in federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland, Roske consented to be detained without bail but reserved his right to request a hearing on bail later.
Under questioning from Magistrate Judge Timothy Sullivan, Roske said he was a college graduate, with a bachelor’s degree.
When Sullivan asked if he was thinking clearly, and understood the nature of the hearing, Roske answered, “I think I have a reasonable understanding, but I wouldn’t say I’m thinking clearly.”
He next is due in court on June 22.
