Nicholas Roske Sentenced to Over Eight Years in Prison for Attempted Murder of Supreme Court Justice in Maryland

Nicholas John Roske, 29, of Simi Valley, California, was sentenced today to 97 months in federal prison to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release for attempting to kill a United States Supreme Court Justice. The Department of Justice advocated for a sentence of at least 30 years to life.

“The attempted assassination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was a disgusting attack against our entire judicial system by a profoundly disturbed individual,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “The Department of Justice will be appealing the woefully insufficient sentence imposed by the district court, which does not reflect the horrific facts of this case.”

“Nicholas Roske will now pay the price for attempting to assassinate a Supreme Court Justice in a violent plot to alter the court’s composition and its rulings,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Violence against federal judges or other public officials is unacceptable and will be met by the full force of the law. The FBI will work aggressively with our law enforcement partners to detect and stop these schemes and protect our nation.”

“Politically motivated violence has no place in our society,” said U.S. Attorney Kelly O’Hayes for the District of Maryland. “The attempt to assassinate a Supreme Court Justice is an extreme, unconscionable act that must be met with the full weight of the law. We, along with our federal partners, are committed to relentlessly pursuing, prosecuting, and punishing anyone involved in planning and executing these brazen, violent crimes. Violence against others will not be tolerated.”

“Roske flew across the country armed with a gun and zip ties, prepared to kill at least one sitting Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States because of how he imagined the Justice would rule,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “No public servant, let alone a Justice, should have to consider his safety or that of his family’s in discharging his duty. Even in failure, Roske’s plot violated that basic tenet and threatened judicial independence, a critical component of the rule of law.”

As part of a guilty plea, Roske admitted that on June 7, 2022, Roske flew from Los Angeles International Airport to Dulles International Airport with a firearm and ammunition in a checked suitcase. Roske then took a taxi from the airport to Montgomery County, Maryland, with the intent to kill the Supreme Court Justice.

On June 8, 2022, at approximately 1:05 a.m., two Deputy U.S. Marshals, protecting the residence of a Supreme Court Justice, observed Roske arrive in and get out of a taxi in front of the residence. Roske wore dark clothing and had a backpack and suitcase. As Roske would tell a Detective later that morning after being arrested and Mirandized, “I noticed immediately that there were people sitting outside and this was a very like empty neighborhood, so I was like, okay, they’re keeping a lookout.  So then I went around the house on the other side[.]”

Shortly after, Roske told a Montgomery County Emergency Communications Center call taker that Roske was having homicidal and suicidal thoughts, had a gun in his suitcase, and flew from California to kill a specific Supreme Court Justice.

MCPD officers responded to the location and took Roske into custody. A search of Roske’s suitcase and backpack revealed a firearm; black tactical chest rig and tactical knife; two magazines, each containing 10 rounds of ammunition; 17 additional rounds of ammunition; pepper spray; zip ties; a hammer; screwdrivers; nail punch; crowbar; pistol light; duct tape; hiking boots with padding on the outside of the soles; and lock-pick tools, along with other items.

Law enforcement transported Roske to a MCPD station. After being Mirandized, Roske stated that Roske was upset about a recently leaked Supreme Court draft decision on abortion as well as the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Roske also admitted that he came from California with the intent to use the firearm and burglary tools and to kill the Supreme Court Justice. When asked “If everything was clear, what was your plan to do?,” Roske responded, “Break in [and] shoot” the Associate Justice.

The FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, MCPD, and Supreme Court Police Department investigated the case, with valuable assistance provided by the FBI Los Angeles Field Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas M. Sullivan and Coreen Mao for the District of Maryland prosecuted the case, with valuable assistance from Trial Attorney John Cella of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.