California man accused with attempting to kill Brett Kavanaugh
As a result of the man’s detention early Wednesday morning near the home of US Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in Maryland, the Justice Department has charged him with making threats to abduct or murder a judge in the United States.
According to the criminal complaint, Nicholas John Roske, 26, of Simi Valley, California, contacted emergency services and claimed to be suicidal and to have a gun in his bag. This led to his detention.
According to an FBI document, he stated that he had gone from California to assassinate “a specific United States Supreme Court Justice,” According to the affidavit, Roske was enraged by the recent school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, the recent leak of a Supreme Court ruling on abortion rights, and a forthcoming gun control lawsuit.
“Roske indicated that he believed the Justice that he intended to kill would side with Second Amendment decisions that would loosen gun control laws,” FBI agent reported. Following the break-in, “Roske stated that he began thinking about how to give his life a purpose and decided that he would kill the Supreme Court Justice” after making the decision. The affidavit stated that Roske meant to take his own life as well.
According to the FBI, Roske was found with a tactical knife, a Glock 17 pistol, two magazines, ammo, pepper spray, and zip ties in his bag and backpack on Wednesday morning.
It was also stated in the statement that Roske had on hand various tools such as hammer, screwdriver, nail punch, crowbar, pistol light and duct tape
It was decided that Roske would remain behind bars after his court appearance on Wednesday. Preliminary hearings will be held on June 22nd.
On the day of Roske’s court appearance, District Judge Tim Sullivan asked him whether he had any idea what was going on, and Roske claimed he was not “thinking clearly” but he was aware of what was happening. When the court asked if he was impaired, he said that he was on medication he had taken earlier in the day. He did not say which medication he was taking.
Biden has issued a statement condemning the arrest of an armed suspect outside of Kavanaugh’s home, according to the White House. Andrew Bates, the White House spokesperson, told CNN This individual’s activities are strongly condemned by Vice President Biden, who is appreciative to law enforcement for immediately apprehending him.
“As the President has consistently made clear, public officials — including judges — must be able to do their jobs without concern for their personal safety or that of their families. And any violence, threats of violence, or attempts to intimidate justices have no place in our society. He has said that himself, and his spokespeople have been forceful about this from the podium.”
President Biden “supports legislation to fund increased security for the court and judges.” Bates said.
