A trial is set to commence in June 2025 for Nicholas John Roske, a California man accused of attempting to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh at his residence in a Washington, D.C. suburb. U.S. District Judge Peter Messitte established the trial date during a hearing at the federal courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland, marking the first hearing in nearly two years.
Roske, hailing from Simi Valley, California, was apprehended near Kavanaugh’s home in Chevy Chase, Maryland, in June 2022. Authorities stated that Roske was armed with a gun and a knife, carried zip ties, and wore black attire when he arrived in the neighborhood by taxi shortly after 1 a.m.
Upon his arrest at the age of 26, Roske pleaded not guilty to the charge of attempting to murder a justice of the United States, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Following his apprehension, Roske revealed to a police detective that he was disturbed by a leaked draft opinion hinting at the Supreme Court’s intention to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide, as per an FBI agent’s affidavit.
Expressing his intentions online, Roske mentioned that the elimination of a single justice could impact the court’s verdicts for decades, adding that he aimed for a total of three justices, authorities reported. His arrest caused demonstrations, including at the homes of various justices, prompting the U.S. House to pass a bill broadening security measures for the justices’ families.
In addition, Roske cited distress over the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and presumed that Kavanaugh would support relaxing gun control legislation, according to the affidavit. Roske dialed 911 to inform a dispatcher that he was near Kavanaugh’s residence and expressed a desire to end his own life, which eventually led to his encounter with two U.S. marshals tasked with providing round-the-clock security for the justices.
Roske, currently detained in Baltimore pending trial, appeared in court in handcuffs and shackles on Tuesday. With jury selection slated to commence on June 9, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen Gavin noted that the jury selection process could be protracted given the circumstances. The trial is anticipated to span approximately a week.
Despite failed negotiations for a potential plea agreement, court documents revealed that a mental evaluation for Roske was not pursued by the defense team during the recent hearing. In a prior session, Judge Messitte hinted at the likelihood of ordering a mental assessment to ascertain Roske’s mental fitness to aid in his defense, consider a potential guilty plea, or stand trial. Andrew Szekely, one of Roske’s attorneys, affirmed during Tuesday’s session that the defense did not seek a court-ordered mental evaluation for Roske.
