Trial Date Set For Man Accused Of Trying To Kill Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh

GREENBELT, MD — The trial for a California man accused of trying to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh at his Chevy Chase home will start next June, according to a report by The Associated Press.

U.S. District Judge Peter Messitte set the trial date for Nicholas John Roske during a hearing Tuesday at the federal courthouse in Greenbelt. It was the first hearing for the case in nearly two years.

Roske, 28, traveled from his home in Simi Valley, California, and arrived near the residence of Kavanaugh in the early morning hours of June 8, 2022, with the intent to kill the Supreme Court justice, according to court documents.

Roske was armed with a gun and a knife, carried zip ties and was dressed in black when he arrived in the neighborhood by taxi just after 1 a.m., federal authorities said. Roske contacted his sister by text and told her about his intentions, police said. In her response, the sister urged Roske to call 911.

Roske then placed two 911 calls from near Kavanaugh’s house, 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.

Montgomery County police were dispatched to the area and found Roske around 1:50 a.m. He was still on the phone with the county communications center when police arrived and took him into custody.

According to court documents, 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.

The indictment does 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, who is jailed in Baltimore while awaiting trial, was led into the courtroom in handcuffs and and shackles Tuesday. He did not speak during the 20-minute hearing.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin June 9. “Selecting a jury in this case may take a little longer,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen Gavin said in court Tuesday. The trial is expected to last about a week.

During a hearing in October 2022, the judge said there was a “very high likelihood” that he would order a mental evaluation for Roske to determine if he was fit to assist his defense, enter a possible guilty plea or stand trial.

Andrew Szekely, one of Roske's attorneys, said during Tuesday's hearing that the defense is not requesting a court-ordered mental evaluation of Roske.

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 previously said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.