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A California woman who traveled to Maryland in 2022 intending to assassinate U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was sentenced Friday to just over eight years in federal prison — a punishment dramatically lower than the 30 years sought by the Justice Department.
Sophie Roske, 29, a transgender woman charged under her legal name Nicholas Roske, pleaded guilty in April to attempted assassination of a Supreme Court justice. She admitted to traveling from Simi Valley, California, to Kavanaugh’s home in Chevy Chase, Maryland, carrying a Glock pistol, knife, zip ties, and burglary tools.
U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman sentenced Roske to eight years and one month in prison followed by lifetime court supervision. The judge said Roske’s conduct was “reprehensible” but noted that she called 911 to report her intentions before approaching the home — a decision that prevented bloodshed.
“This is an atypical defendant in an atypical case,” Boardman said. “Law enforcement didn’t know anything about this plan until she turned herself in.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi condemned the sentence as far too lenient and said the Justice Department would appeal. “The attempted assassination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was a disgusting attack against our entire judicial system by a profoundly disturbed individual,” Bondi said.
Prosecutors argued for no less than 30 years in prison, calling Roske’s plot “an abhorrent form of terrorism” aimed at influencing judicial rulings. “Killing one judge could change the decisions of the nine-member court for decades to come,” they wrote.
Roske expressed remorse before sentencing, apologizing to Kavanaugh and his family “for the considerable stress I put them through.”
“I have been portrayed as a monster,” she said. “This tragic mistake that I made will follow me for the rest of my life.”
According to court filings, Roske targeted three justices after reading Politico’s May 2022 report on the leaked draft opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade. She told investigators she was enraged by the Supreme Court’s stance on abortion and gun control following the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting.
FBI affidavits showed that Roske had searched online for justices’ home addresses and how to “quietly kill somebody.” In encrypted messages, she said she was “shooting for 3” justices and feared the end of abortion rights and marriage equality.
Her defense attorneys sought an eight-year sentence, describing Roske as mentally ill, suicidal, and struggling with gender identity issues. They said she had been isolated, untreated, and desperate to give her life meaning after the Roedraft leaked.
“Crucially, she stopped short of causing harm to another person,” her attorneys wrote. “In her deepest moment of crisis, she showed her humanity.”
Roske’s parents, Vernon and Colleen, also addressed the court, apologizing to Kavanaugh and acknowledging their daughter’s mental health struggles.
“I should have pushed for her to get better care,” her father said tearfully.
Judge Boardman concluded that Roske’s decision to call 911 “saved lives,” but stressed the severity of the act. “Justice Kavanaugh is a public figure, but he is also a husband and father,” she said. “The harm here is real.”
