A heavily armed 26-year-old man who was detained on Wednesday near Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s house told authorities he wanted to kill the conservative jurist and then himself.
Nicholas John Roske of Simi Valley, California, turned up at Kavanaugh’s Maryland home with a disturbing arsenal of weapons including a handgun, tactical gear, a knife, and zip ties.
He told cops he purchased the lethal equipment ‘for the purpose of breaking into the justice’s residence and killing the justice as well as himself,’ according to court documents.
Protesters returned to Kavanaugh’s home hours after the arrest on Wednesday while the FBI searched Roske’s home on the West Coast.
A bipartisan bill that would have expanded security to the justices also stalled in the House after it was passed in the Senate.
‘Roske allegedly told detectives that he was upset about the leak of a recent Supreme Court draft decision regarding the right to abortion as well as the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas,’ Maryland officials said.
He was charged with the attempted murder of a US judge and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
An accompanying court filing also states Roske was armed with a ‘black tactical chest rig and tactical knife, a Glock 17 pistol with two magazines and ammunition, pepper spray, zip ties, a hammer, screwdriver, nail punch, crowbar, pistol light, duct tape, hiking boots with padding on the outside of the soles, and other items.’
Officials suggest Roske took a taxi cab to the front of Kavanaugh’s home after finding his address online.
Two Deputy US Marshals saw him exit the vehicle at 1:05 am and look their way before walking down the street.
Roske turned himself in by calling 911 while in Kavanaugh’s neighborhood, and informing them that he was armed and suicidal. He told responding authorities that he wanted to kill a ‘specific Supreme Court justice,’ the filing states.
He was arrested in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Supreme Court spokesperson Patricia McCabe confirmed to DailyMail.com in a statement.
‘At approximately 1:50 a.m. today, a man was arrested near Justice Kavanaugh’s residence. The man was armed and made threats against Justice Kavanaugh. He was transported to Montgomery County Police 2nd District,’ she said.
People familiar with the investigation told the Washington Post that the man was also upset over the recent slew of mass shootings across the country that’s claimed dozens of lives in recent weeks.
It’s not clear if Kavanaugh or his family were home at the time.
The FBI said they had no additional information to provide.
Rep. Steve Scalise, the House Minority Whip, said during a press conference: ‘You saw from the White House on down to encourage people to go homes, the private homes of Supreme Court justices. It is a dangerous trend.’
‘Exercising First Amendment rights is one thing. Encouraging people to go to the homes of Supreme Court justices. You see where that can lead? And it’s a shame. Thank God law enforcement was able to arrest the man who was intending on committing that action,’ Scalise said.
Rep. Darrell Issa of California said the alleged plot to attack Kavanaugh was ‘a stark reminder of how the reckless rhetoric of this Administration and Democrat partisans can incite others to violence.’
‘It’s time for Democrats to finally condemn the hate they have brought to the front doors of justices and their families and provide them the protection they so obviously need,’ the Republican lawmaker said.
Attorney General Merrick Garland also condemned the incident, declaring that attacks against Justices of the Supreme Court ‘strike at the heart of our democracy.’
‘We will do everything we can to prevent them,’ he vowed at a press conference on Wednesday.
