Man Charged With Attempting To Kill Brett Kavanaugh Pleads Not Guilty

CHEVY CHASE, MD — A California man, accused of attempting to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, pleaded not guilty Wednesday at a hearing in federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Nicholas Roske, 26, of Simi Valley, California, was arrested outside Kavanaugh's home in Chevy Chase, Maryland, earlier this month after he showed up carrying a gun and two magazines loaded with 10 rounds each of 9mm ammunition.

During his arraignment on Wednesday, Roske, wearing a prison uniform, gave quick and clear answers to each question posed to him, CNN reported. Roske pleaded not guilty to one count of attempting to kill a Supreme Court justice at the hearing in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in Greenbelt.

In the early morning hours of June 8, after arriving in Kavanaugh's neighborhood in Chevy Chase by taxi, Roske contacted his sister by text and told her about his intentions, police said. In her response, the sister urged him to call 911.

Roske decided against trying to kill Kavanaugh and instead placed two 911 calls from near Kavanaugh's house around 1:40 a.m. on June 8, informing local police that he had suicidal thoughts and had a firearm in his suitcase, according to recordings provided by Montgomery's Emergency Communications Center to The Washington Post.

On June 15, a federal grand jury indicted Roske on charges of attempted murder of Kavanaugh. Roske faces a maximum sentence of life in prison for attempting to assassinate a Supreme Court justice, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland said in a news release.

According to police and court documents, Roske had a Glock-17 pistol, a tactical knife, two magazines, a speed loader, ammunition, pepper spray, zip ties and tools including a hammer, screwdriver, nail punch, and a crowbar.

Roske told police he was upset over recent mass shootings and the leaked draft opinion that indicated the Supreme Court may be preparing to overturn Roe v. Wade, which guarantees a person's constitutional right to have an abortion, according to court documents.

The indictment did not mention Kavanaugh by name. It instead alleges that Roske "did attempt to kill … an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States."

Roske remained in custody after his arraignment on Wednesday. A U.S. magistrate judge on Wednesday set a tentative trial date of Aug. 23.

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