Federal judge sentences attempted Kavanaugh assassin to eight years in prison

A federal judge in Maryland on Friday sentenced the inmate who attempted to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2022 to eight years in prison, far less than the 30-year sentence prosecutors sought.

The defendant, who previously went by Nicholas John Roske at the time but now goes by Sophie Roske after transitioning from male to female, pleaded guilty to one felony charge of attempting to assassinate a Supreme Court justice in April.

U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman credited Roske with abandoning the plot to assassinate Kavanaugh but said the planned assassination was "reprehensible" and deserved a serious sentence, according to The Hill. 

“What Sophie Roske did, devising and nearly executing a plan to kill a Supreme Court justice in an attempt to change a Supreme Court ruling and the compensation of the court is absolutely reprehensible and will be punished,” Boardman said.

Roske was reportedly motivated to make the attempt in 2022 by a leaked Supreme Court opinion that revealed the court intended to overrule the landmark abortion decision in Roe v. Wade. The inmate did not actually attempt to carry out the plan after speaking to 911 and family members. Authorities recovered various weapons, including a crowbar, a pistol and ammunition.

Roske was also sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release, CBS News reported, which is longer than the 25 years that Roske's team requested. 

The defendant submitted a letter to the judge last month that apologized to Kavanaugh for the plot and their role in contributing to political violence. 

"I put them through a harrowing experience and for that I am truly sorry. I am very glad I did not continue," Roske wrote. "I am also sorry for contributing to a trend of political violence in American politics."

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.