A federal judge on Friday sentenced Nicholas Roske to just eight years in prison for attempting to murder Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, far below the 30-year-sentence sought by prosecutors.
Judge Deborah Boardman said during the sentencing hearing that while Roske’s actions were “reprehensible,” the judge also considered a string of mitigating circumstances, including that Roske “spontaneously confessed to and cooperated with police.”
The judge also praised Roske, who now goes by “Sophie,” for his gender transition and spent hours working down terrorism enhancements at a lengthy sentencing hearing. “I believe Ms. Roske understands that what she did was terribly wrong. I find her remorse sincere,” Boardman said.
DOJ prosecutor Coreen Mao had asked the judge to impose a sentence that “must send the very strong, very clear message that the ends never justify violent means.”
Mao noted that back in April, Kavanaugh received a death threat April from someone who invoked Roske’s name and referenced shooting the justice in the head. This, the prosecutor noted, illustrated the need to impose a steep sentence in order to deter future would-be assassins.
A federal sentencing memorandum detailed extensive online research, weapons purchases, and reconnaissance leading up to Roske’s arrival outside Kavanaugh’s Maryland home in the early hours of June 8, 2022.
According to prosecutors, Roske’s own digital trail shows he wanted to alter the Court’s direction through murder. In Discord messages quoted by the filing, Roske wrote that he was “shooting for 3” and observed that “people have killed judges before.”
Authorities say Roske flew from California to Dulles with a Glock 17, ammunition, a knife, zip ties, a pry bar, tactical gloves, and other gear, then took a taxi to Kavanaugh’s street. Upon spotting deputy U.S. marshals outside the residence, he walked away, spoke with his sister, and dialed 911, later surrendering to police.
Despite the extensive planning, the Biden-appointed judge opted to hand down an incredibly lenient sentence of just eight years. Roske could be eligible for early release in as little as four years.
Boardman, a Biden appointee, said she factored in President Donald Trump’s executive order requiring transgender inmates to be detained in prisons that correspond to their sex at birth. Since the sentence was well below the prosecutors’ guidelines, the Justice Department will have the opportunity to to appeal.
Boardman was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland by President Joe Biden in 2021
The sentence generated widespread outrage on social media, with many commenters pointing to the steep sentences handed down to January 6 defendants, pro-life protesters and senior Trump allies. Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison despite the fact that he never stepped foot in the Capitol Building, while other members of the group, as well as the Oathkeepers, were sentenced to upwards of 20 years in prison.
“Thomas Webster, an ex Marine and former NYPD cop with no criminal record, got 10 years in federal prison over a 90 second scuffle with a DC cop on Jan 6,” noted veteran reporter Julie Kelly. “We have a massive crisis in the federal judiciary and neither Congress nor SCOTUS is doing anything about it,” Kelly wrote in a follow-up post.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller responded to a post detailing the sentence that described Roske as a “woman” by noting first that he is indeed a man. “And the only just punishment for attempting to assassinate a Justice is a sentence of death,” he added.
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