Armed man arrested near Justice Kavanaugh's Maryland home after making violent threats
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - A man armed with a knife and a gun was arrested near the Maryland home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh early Wednesday morning, law enforcement sources confirm to FOX News.
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The Department of Justice sent out a press release Wednesday afternoon saying a criminal complaint had been filed charging Nicholas John Roske, 26, of Simi Valley, California, for federal charges of attempted murder of a Supreme Court Justice.
According to the criminal complaint, two United States Deputy Marshals saw an individual dressed in black clothing and carrying a backpack and a suitcase, get out of a taxicab that had stopped in front of the residence of the Justice around 1:05 a.m.
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The individual looked at the two Deputy U.S. Marshals, who were standing next to their parked vehicle, and then turned to walk down the street.
Shortly thereafter, Montgomery County Emergency Communications Center received a call from Roske, who allegedly informed the call taker that he was having suicidal thoughts and had a firearm in his suitcase. Roske also allegedly stated that he traveled from California to Maryland to kill a specific Supreme Court Justice.
Montgomery County Police Department officers were dispatched to the location near the residence where they encountered Roske, who was still on the telephone with the Montgomery County Emergency Communications Center. Roske was taken into custody and law enforcement officers seized the backpack and the suitcase that were still in his possession.
A search of the seized suitcase and backpack revealed a black tactical chest rig and tactical knife, a pistol with two magazines and ammunition, pepper spray, zip ties, a hammer, screwdriver, nail punch, crowbar, pistol light, duct tape, hiking boots with padding on the outside of the soles and other items.
Roske was transported to the Montgomery County Police Department where he allegedly told detectives that he was upset about the leak of the Supreme Court draft decision regarding the right to abortion as well as the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
Roske appeared before a judge Wednesday. He originally told the judge he didn’t think he was thinking clearly about the charges against him, but then later said he understood the nature of the charges. A preliminary hearing in the case is set for June 22.
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If convicted, Roske faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for attempted murder of a United States Judge.