A California man who plotted to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and potentially two other conservative justices in a bid to preserve abortion under Roe v. Wade was sentenced Friday to just eight years in prison.
U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman, a Biden appointee, imposed the sentence during a hearing at the federal courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland. Nicholas Roske, who has been in custody since her arrest, will receive credit for time served and face 25 years of supervised release.
Sentencing guidelines called for 30 years for Roske to serve in prison, but Boardman undid most of the terrorism enhancement. As a result, Roske could be out of prison in four years with good behavior after plotting to killa Supreme Court justice or three.
Judge Boardman based her decison for the lighter sentence Roske’s claim to be a woman.
“I am heartened that this terrible infraction has helped the Roske family… accept their daughter for who she is,” Judge Boardman said of Roseke’s mother. “I have attended PFLAG meetings and learned about the LgBTQ+ community. I am committed to going on this journey with Sophie.”
Boardman reportedly said this while Kavanaugh’s family was in the courtroom.
The light sentence is drawing sharp criticism from pro-life advocates who decried the lenient term as a failure to deter violence against the judiciary.
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Nicholas John Roske, 29, pleaded guilty in April to attempting to assassinate a Supreme Court justice after flying from California to Maryland in June 2022 armed with a Glock pistol, ammunition, a knife, zip ties, pepper spray and burglary tools. He arrived outside Kavanaugh’s Chevy Chase home early that morning, spotted U.S. marshals on duty and called 911 to report his suicidal and homicidal intentions, leading to his arrest without incident.
Prosecutors sought at least 30 years to life, arguing in a September sentencing memo that Roske’s actions constituted “terrorism at its highest order” and an attempt to “single-handedly alter the constitutional order for ideological ends.” They detailed his online messages from May 2022, following the leak of a draft opinion signaling the court’s intent to overturn Roe, where he expressed fury over potential losses to abortion and same-sex marriage rights.
“The thought of Roe v Wade and gay marriage both being repealed has me furious,” Roske texted, adding, “im gonna stop roe v wade from being overturned” by deciding to “remove some people from the supreme court.”
He aimed for “at least one, which would change the votes for decades to come,” and was “shooting for 3.”
Roske’s research included methods for silent killings, such as “does twisting or dragging a knife cause more damage” and “how to break a lock,” as well as searches for the home addresses of Kavanaugh and other justices. He told investigators the plot stemmed from the leaked Dobbs draft and fears over gun rights rulings, believing the justices’ decisions had outsized impact: “I was thinking of the Roe decision. I feel like those 9 people make a much bigger impact than most people.”
Defense attorneys pushed for the eight-year sentence, citing Roske’s mental health struggles, cooperation with authorities and self-surrender via 911. Roske, who now identifies as transgender and uses the name Sophie, wrote in a letter to the court that she was “sorry for contributing to a trend of political violence in American politics” and apologized to Kavanaugh.
The light sentence underscores a troubling leniency toward extremists driven by abortion advocacy, especially after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision empowered states to protect unborn children and saved thousands of lives through new laws. Pro-life groups have long highlighted Roske’s case as emblematic of violent backlash against justices who prioritize the rights of the unborn over unlimited abortion access, viewing the eight-year term — far below the life sentence guidelines — as inadequate justice for an assault on the rule of law.
After the assassination of Charlie Kirk and attempted assassination of President Trump, some will say that’s a horrific travesty of justice that enables more violence.
