Trial Date Set For Man Accused Of Trying To Assassinate Justice Kavanaugh

The man accused of trying to assassinate Justice Brett Kavanaugh will go to trial next year in June, a federal judge decided Tuesday.

Nicholas Roske, who was arrested outside Kavanaugh’s Maryland home in 2022 after he called 911 and stated his intention to kill the Supreme Court justice, appeared in court Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Peter Messitte for the first time in nearly two years, according to WUSA9. Roske has been detained since his arrest and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison for one felony count of attempting to assassinate a Supreme Court justice.

“Selecting a jury in this case may take a little longer,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen Gavin said during the Tuesday hearing, according to the Associated Press. The trial is slated to begin June 9, 2025.

Roske previously told law enforcement during an interview that he was upset about the leak of the draft Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade, and the prospect of Kavanaugh voting in Second Amendment cases to “loosen gun control laws,” according to court records.

“ROSKE stated that he began thinking about how to give his life a purpose and decided that he would kill the Supreme Court Justice,” an FBI agent wrote in a July 2022 affidavit.

Upon Roske’s arrest, officers seized a Glock 17 pistol, ammo, two magazines, pepper spray, zip ties, a hammer, screwdriver, a crowbar and duct tape, among other items, according to court filings.

Prosecutors wrote in a filing last month that the parties “have not been able to agree upon the terms” for a plea deal.