A California man will plead guilty to attempting to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh by showing up outside his home in 2022 with weapons, his lawyers said Wednesday.
Lawyers for Nicholas Roske announced his intent in a letter to the judge overseeing the case. Roske is set to face trial in June, and the charge carries up to life in prison.
“We write to inform the Court that Mr. Roske wishes to plead guilty to the one-count Indictment pending against him,” Roske’s public defenders, Andrew Szekely and Ellie Marranzini, wrote in the letter.
Judiciary leaders have sounded the alarm in recent years about threats against judges, and Roske’s case has become one of the most prominent among the various recent indictments charging individuals with threatening violence against Supreme Court justices.
By pleading guilty, Roske will admit that he flew from California to Washington Dulles International Airport on June 7, 2022, before taking a taxi to the conservative justice’s Maryland home. After arriving, Roske quickly abandoned his plans, with transcripts showing he spoke with 911 and his sister before officers met Roske on scene.
Authorities say they recovered a pistol, crow bar, ammunition, zip ties and other weapons, and Roske later told police he had shown up at Kavanaugh’s home intending to kill him.
Court documents show Roske had told authorities he was suicidal and wanted to assassinate the justice to “make the world a better place.” He also connected his desire to the leaked draft opinion showing the court was poised to overturn Roe v. Wade and the court’s forthcoming gun rights decision, according to the documents.
Roske’s decision to plead guilty comes days before U.S District Judge Deborah Boardman, who is overseeing the case, was set to hold a hearing on the defendant’s pretrial motions to toss the case.
His attorneys argued he was unconstitutionally searched and hadn’t validly waived his constitutional rights before giving the statements to police, so the evidence was inadmissible.
Roske’s attorneys have asked Boardman, an appointee of former President Biden, to convene the parties next week so Roske can enter his plea.
