The man accused of traveling thousands of miles to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh now identifies as a transgender woman.
Nicholas John Roske, 29, of California, pleaded guilty in April to attempting to kill Kavanaugh in 2022.
He had traveled from Simi Valley, California, to the justice’s Maryland home, where he was arrested outside carrying a gun, knife, and burglary tools.
But Roske now goes by the name ‘Sophie Roske,’ according to new court documents obtained by The Daily Wire.
On Friday, his attorney filed a motion seeking permission to submit an oversized sentencing document, citing the case’s ‘significant factual and legal matters.’
Notably, the document refers to the defendant as ‘Sophie Roske,’ a detail clarified in a footnote within the filing.
The 29-year-old’s legal team stated that while the case is captioned as ‘United States v. Nicholas John Roske,’ which remains Roske’s legal name, they will refrain from using the legal name ‘out of respect’ for the accused.
‘That name remains Ms. Roske’s legal name, and she has not asked to recaption the case,’ lawyers wrote, per the report.
‘Out of respect for Ms. Roske, the balance of this pleading and counsel’s in-court argument will refer to her as Sophie and use female pronouns,’ they added.
Nicholas John Roske, pictured, of California , pleaded guilty in April to attempting to kill Kavanaugh in 2022
Roske, of California, pleaded guilty in April to attempting to kill Kavanaugh (pictured) in 2022. He traveled from Simi Valley to the justice’s Maryland home
The newly obtained documents also described Roske as ‘deeply mentally ill and suicidal’ at the time of the attempted assassination.
A source familiar with the legal proceedings revealed that Roske used female identities online prior to the attempted assassination of Kavanaugh and now officially goes by the name reflected in the new court filing, as reported by The Daily Wire.
Attorney General Pam Biondi described the 2022 attack as an act of ‘political violence,’ carried out by what she called a ‘disturbed individual.’
‘This attempt against the life of a Supreme Court Justice was an attack on the entire judicial system that cannot go unpunished,’ Biondi told the outlet on Friday morning.
‘This Department of Justice condemns political violence and our prosecutors will ensure that this disturbed individual faces severe consequences for his deranged actions,’ she added.
In the new filings, Justice Department attorneys argued that the court’s sentence must send a strong message that violence and threats against government officials will be met with the harshest punishments.
Specifically, the sentence must send the ‘unequivocal, clear, and strong message that attempted violence and threats of violence against members of the judiciary – as well as other public and federal officials – cannot and will not be tolerated, and will be justly and severely condemned,’ according to the docs.
DOJ attorneys requested a 30-year prison sentence minimum for Roske, arguing that such a punishment appropriately reflects the seriousness of his attempt to harm and intimidate the judiciary.
According to a court motion filed Friday, Roske now goes by the name ‘Sophie Roske’ (pictured),which lawyers say they will use when referring to the accused
Attorney General Pam Biondi (pictured) described the 2022 attack as an act of ‘political violence,’ carried out by what she called a ‘disturbed individual’
The newly obtained documents also described Roske (pictured) as ‘deeply mentally ill and suicidal’ at the time of the attempted assassination
A source familiar with the legal proceedings revealed that Roske (pictured) used female identities online prior to the attempted assassination of Kavanaugh
They said that a strict sentence would send a clear message: ‘the consequences for these acts – no fewer than 30 years to life in prison – are not worth the perceived ideological ends.’
The 34-page sentencing memo also revealed that Roske had plans to assassinate not only Justice Kavanaugh, but potentially two other individuals, according to additional documents obtained by The Washington Times.
Newly revealed details – described in court documents as ‘bone-chilling’ – outlined how Roske meticulously ‘pre-planned’ the ‘cold-blooded murder’ of the justice.
The filings cite multiple online searches for the justice’s home address and several discussions on Discord – including what would happen if a Supreme Court justice were killed.
The document cites Discord messages Roske posted in May 2022 referencing Roe v. Wade, following the leak of a draft opinion suggesting the Supreme Court would overturn the landmark abortion ruling – which it ultimately did in June, according to docs obtained by CBS News.
‘What do you think would happen if Kavanaugh died?’ Roske wrote at the time, according to the sentencing memo.
That same day, Roske also sent a message that said: ‘Also the right have a 5-4 majority so if one conservative justice dies then it becomes a 5-4 for the left,’ according to prosecutors.
The memo revealed that Roske conducted chilling Google searches, including questions like ‘how much force do you need to stab someone’s neck,’ ‘most effective way to silently kill someone’ and ‘how to break a lock,’ according to CBS.
Police officers stand outside the home of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in anticipation of an abortion-rights demonstration on May 18, 2022 in Chevy Chase, Maryland
Prosecutors also explained that a map saved in Roske’s Google account contained pins marking what are believed to be the homes of four sitting Supreme Court justices – identified only by numbers in the documents.
Roske has been in custody since June 8, 2022, when he called police to report himself outside Justice Kavanaugh’s home.
According to an FBI affidavit, Roske had flown from California to Washington and was spotted arriving at Kavanaugh’s home in the middle of the night on June 8, as reported by CBS News.
He was carrying a suitcase armed with a Glock-17 pistol, two magazine clips, a speed loader, a tactical knife, pepper spray, zip ties, a hammer, screwdriver, nail punch and a crowbar.
Shortly after arriving on the scene, however, police said he called 911 saying he was having suicidal thoughts – telling the operator that he was going to kill Kavanaugh and then himself because he did not expect to get away with the crime.
Roske was taken into custody after the call and allegedly confessed to investigators that he was motivated by anger over the leaked Supreme Court draft suggesting that Kavanaugh and other conservative justices were set to overturn Roe v. Wade and the federal right to abortion.
At the time, Roske told police he planned to kill Justice Kavanaugh to give his own life a sense of purpose.
