A California woman who attempted to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2022 has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison.
Judge Deborah Boardman sentenced Sophie Roske to 97 months in prison on Friday afternoon in Greenbelt, Maryland. The 29-year-old pleaded guilty to the attempted assassination in April.
“I sincerely apologize to the justice and his family,” Roske said in court, adding that “this tragic mistake will follow me for the rest of my life,” according to CNN.
Roske traveled from California to Kavanaugh’s home in Maryland on June 8, 2022, with a plan to assassinate him, according to the Justice Department. U.S. Marshals who were protecting Kavanaugh’s home spotted Roske getting out of a taxi and walking down the street.
Shortly afterward, Roske called 911 and told the operator she traveled to the state with a gun to kill a Supreme Court justice. At the time of the incident, she was known as Nicholas Roske.
Investigators later found a gun in Roske’s suitcase, along with several other items including a knife, ammunition, zip ties and pepper spray.
When interviewed by police, Roske said she was upset about “a recently leaked Supreme Court draft decision on abortion as well as the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas,” the Justice Department said. A month prior, Politico had published a leaked draft of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v Jackson, which overturned the Constitutional right to an abortion established in 1973 in Roe v Wade.
Prosecutors asked the judge to sentence Roske to at least 30 years. They also argued that the sentence should serve to deter others, citing a letter Kavanaugh received in April that said he “should die” from a gunshot and referenced Roske, CNN reports. Meanwhile, the defense asked for 96 months.
The prosecution’s request was “not reasonable,” Boardman said in court. She cited Roske’s decision to tell authorities about her plan, as well as her mental health struggles, according to CNN. Roske struggled with depression for years and had attempted suicide in the past, according to her defense attorneys.
“If she had not called 911, law enforcement would have never known about Sophie Roske and her plot to kill a Supreme Court justice,” Boardman said.
Boardman also cited President Donald Trump’s executive order from January 20, which states that transgender inmates must be incarcerated in prisons that correspond with the gender they were assigned at birth, ABC News reports. Roske’s attorneys disclosed in September that she is transgender.
Boardman went on to acknowledge the “real harm that was caused to Justice Kavanaugh and his family,” adding that they should “never have to face a fear of threat because he does his job.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi said prosecutors will be appealing the “woefully insufficient” sentence, arguing it “does not reflect the horrific facts of this case.”
“The attempted assassination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was a disgusting attack against our entire judicial system by a profoundly disturbed individual,” Bondi said in a statement.
If you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you’re in the UK, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email [email protected], or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
