Would-Be Kavanaugh Assassin Used Media Reports On Protests To Find Justice’s Home, Feds Say

The man who turned himself in after traveling across the country to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh found the justice’s home through media reports on the illegal protests outside Kavanaugh’s home, court filings show.

Authorities arrested 26-year-old Nicholas Roske in 2022 in Kavanaugh’s Maryland neighborhood, carrying a bag full of weapons and burglary tools, after he called the police on himself. Court filings show that Roske described himself as “actively suicidal” and said he wanted to “do something positive before I die” by taking out Kavanaugh before the justice could vote to overturn Roe v. Wade.

He found Kavanaugh’s neighborhood online, according to court documents. He saw an article with a “picture of the family’s house,” including the house number. It was as simple as that.

“I was thinking about — I was thinking about killing Brett Kavanaugh and then killing myself,” he said to the officers who arrived on the scene, according to January court filings. “And then I texted my sister that I loved her. And then she called me and she told me not to do it. And then I called 9-1-1-.”

“I saw the news and it was upsetting, and I was already suicidal,” he told detectives later, as he described how he tracked down Kavanaugh’s home and planned the assassination.  “And I don’t know. It was something to — it was like a project I guess…”

(Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

“When I saw the leaked draft, it made me upset and then it made me want to — I don’t know,” he shared. “I was under the delusion that I could make the world a better place by killing him.”

Roske allegedly flew from California to Dulles International Airport after he found Kavanaugh’s home using media photographs of protests outside the justice’s home. Those protests began after POLITICO’s May 2022 publication of a leaked draft Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe. Radical leftist groups published Supreme Court justices’ addresses online and urged protestors to make the justices uncomfortable in efforts to save Roe.

“I’m not sure how I found the street, but there’s a — I read an article that has a picture of the front of his house on it and it has the street number,” he said in a transcript included in the court filings. “And then I cross-referenced it … I would put the pictures from the press, you know, from various protests, and I compared it to the outside of his house in an app.”

Federal law bars “picketing or parading in or near a building or residence that houses a judge, juror, witness, court officer, or United States court with the intent to obstruct, interfere with, or impede the administration of justice.” Attorney General Merrick Garland acknowledged in 2023 that a violation of that statute is a federal crime, but he has not enforced that law against the protestors, even though Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and then-Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan requested that he do so.

In interviews with officers, Roske describes how he struggled with serious mental health issues, particularly when his parents went on vacation and he was home alone. He shared that he thought about “killing pedofiles [sic].”

“One of the biggest struggles with my [REDACTED] is having a sense of purpose, a sense that I’m doing something that matters, so I thought if I could, like, prevent a child from being raped, that would be good. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that, like, I wouldn’t actually like do anything because the people that were convicted are already, like, on watch and all that stuff anyway.”

His alleged plan was to “break in, shoot him, and then shoot myself.”

Roske’s lawyers in several court filings called for the suppression of a “warrantless search” of his backpack, suitcase, and “a locked container in the suitcase” as well as the “seizure of these items’ contents.”

The court filings include photos of the police body camera footage from the night of June 8, 2022, when the officers approached Roske.

Screenshot of photos from Roske court filings shows Roske laying in the street at the direction of the police officers on June 8, 2022.

Officers approach Nicholas Roske on June 8, 2022. Screenshot of Roske court filings.

It also includes the transcript of Roske’s 911 call, made at 1:39 am on June 8, 2022, in which he told the operator that he had come to Maryland from California to kill Kavanaugh.

That call transcript reveals Roske sharing that he has been having “these thoughts” for “a long time” — apparently referring to his suicidal thoughts. The dispatcher asks him if he’s thinking of hurting anyone, including himself, and he responds, “Yes.” He tells the dispatcher that he brought a firearm with him and that he’s storing it in a black suitcase.

“I need psychiatric help,” he tells the dispatcher when asked if he needs medical attention. The dispatcher walks Roske through the next steps, explaining to him that officers will be arriving soon, and encouraging him to follow the officer’s directions in order to avoid confrontation.

“I’m sitting on the curb,” Roske told the dispatcher, who asked him, “Do you have any other weapons with you?”

“There are other weapons in the suitcase, but I do not have any in my possession,” he responded. 

“What other weapons are in the suitcase?” the dispatcher questioned.

“There is pepper spray,” he said. “There is a knife. There are various tools. No other firearms. No explosives, nothing like that.”

The dispatcher asked Roske: “And you said you came from California. Do you know someone down here?”

“Brett Kavanaugh,” Roske responded. 

“You said red, like that color?” questioned the dispatcher. 

“Brett,” said Roske. 

“Brett,” the dispatcher repeated. 

“The Supreme Court Justice,” Roske clarified. 

The dispatcher responded. “Okay. And you came alone?”

“Correct,” the attempted assassin told him. 

“Okay. And why were you coming there? Just to hurt yourself and him or what was going to happen?”

“Correct,” Roske responded again.

Many on the right have suggested that the draft opinion was leaked by a progressive Supreme Court clerk in an effort to push the court to change its decision. Following the leak, conservative activists and legal experts quickly called for the Supreme Court to release its decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

In an early May 2022 editorial, the Wall Street Journal editorial board expressed concerns that an “abortion fanatic” might “commit an act of violence” in an effort to subvert the court’s expected decision to overturn Roe.

“One question is how fast the Court should now move to publish its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization,” the board said. “There’s an argument for getting it out fast to make it a fait accompli.”

“Politico said the Alito draft was circulated in February, so the Justices have had ample time to absorb it and respond,” it continued. “We hate to say this, but some abortion fanatic could decide to commit an act of violence to stop a 5-4 ruling. It’s an awful thought, but we live in fanatical times.”

More than two years later, the Supreme Court has still not identified its leaker. Roske’s trial will begin June 9, according to POLITICO.

Nicholas Roske is read his Miranda rights. Screenshot of court filings.