Transgender Man Who Planned To Assassinate Brett Kavanaugh Gets Off Easy, Will Serve Just 8 Years

GREENBELT, Md.—The man who planned to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2022 in an attempt to change the court’s balance of power was sentenced by a Joe Biden-appointed judge on Friday to 97 months in prison, a far lighter sentence that federal prosecutors were seeking.

Nicholas Roske traveled from California to Kavanaugh’s Maryland home armed with a gun after a leaked document showed that the court planned to rule against liberals on abortion. Although he had meticulously planned the assassination for months, he had a change of heart outside the conservative justice’s home and called the police to turn himself in.

Judge Deborah Boardman, a Joe Biden appointee to Maryland federal court, gave Roske just over eight years — the sentence his defense team asked for. The judge threw out most of the terrorism enhancement, which would have extended the sentence. Roske could be released in four years with good behavior.

Department of Justice prosecutors had asked for at least 30 years on the charge of Attempt to Assassinate a Justice of the United States, saying the court’s 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.”

Judge Boardman sentences Rosie to 97 months in prison, which is what his lawyers asked for. Sentencing guidelines called for 30 years, but she undid most of the terrorism enhancement. He could be out in 4 years with good behavior.

— Luke Rosiak (@lukerosiak) October 3, 2025

Roske pleaded guilty without a plea deal. Last month, his lawyers filed papers saying he goes by the name Sophie, and asking for a lenient sentence in part because of “the harshness of the conditions of confinement Ms. Roske will face due to current Bureau of Prisons [policies] regarding transgender inmates.” Family members filed letters of support with similar rhetoric. His sister Olivia, who is gay, worried that he would be placed in a male prison “with limited access to gender-affirming care.”

Judge Boardman indicated during the trial the she was taking Roske’s claimed transgender identity into account for sentencing. During the trial, the judge referred to the defendant by female pronouns and voiced concern that Roske wouldn’t be placed in a female prison because of a President Donald Trump executive order.

As The Daily Wire reported last month, Roske’s legal name remains Nicholas and it was not known that he identified as transgender until his lawyers stated it in court filings ahead of sentencing. His legal team telegraphed ahead of the trial that the entire defense would be based around this transgender identity.

READ MORE: Would-Be Kavanaugh Assassin Should Be Let Off Easy Because He Identifies As Transgender, Family Says

A Daily Wire review of Roske’s postings on Reddit before the shooting shows that he is one in a string of violent trans-identifying individuals who are obsessed with video games and leftist politics. In one, he said he was a “Trans Gamer Girl Seeking Friend.” In another, he said he was “Seeking Daddy to Have Complete Sexual Control Over Me.”

Still another post said “Dating: I am into androgynous or feminine people who use she/her pronouns…. Play Partners: Pretty kinky, have a fet account and everything…. If you are not a cis man, chances are I am interested in playing with you :).”

Like the boyfriend of Tyler Robinson, who allegedly assassinated Charlie Kirk, Roske was apparently a “furry.”

He put out a classified ad calling himself a “MtF Pet For Owner.” It said, “I want to wear nothing but a collar, ears, and tail plug and communicate only through my body what I want.”

In one Reddit post, he explained that “I am pro-abortion (in favor of aborting fetuses, not pro-choice).” He said that all babies should be aborted, because they cannot give consent to being born. “This would require no deaths of people already in existence, it would simply prevent new people from coming into existence. Over time, resources would become more plentiful, another benefit of this method,” he wrote.

On May 20, 2022, he asked Reddit users, “The Roe v Wade leak has brought a lot of attention to the supreme court and what it is capable of. If going into the future the supreme court retains the same members, what is a realistic expectation for the future? On the other hand, if a conservative judge were replaced by a liberal judge, thus changing which party has the majority, what would change?”

The next day, he posted in Reddit’s “forensics” forum, claiming to be a novelist: “Writing a killer who is obsessed with not leaving evidence. What methods could they use?”