A California man who plotted to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in a bid to block the overturning of Roe v. Wade was sentenced last Friday to just eight years in prison — a term far below guidelines— after claiming a transgender identity that his defense team hoped would secure a softer punishment and potential transfer to a women’s facility.
Although his false claim of being a woman got him a lighter sentence, it will not earn him a trip to a women’s prison.
Nicholas John Roske, 29, who now identifies as a woman named Sophie, will serve his time in a men’s prison, the Trump administration’s Justice Department affirmed, rejecting what pro-life advocates hail as a manipulative ploy to exploit gender ideology for leniency in a case that threatened the lives of justices defending the right of states to protect babies from abortion.
REACH PRO-LIFE PEOPLE WORLDWIDE! Advertise with LifeNews to reach hundreds of thousands of pro-life readers every week. Contact us today.
Attorney General Pam Bondi addressed the Senate on Tuesday, forcefully rejecting any notion of housing Roske in a women’s prison.
When Sen. Ted Cruz raised concerns about the judge’s apparent desire for such placement, Bondi responded: “Senator, that’s not going to happen.”
She reiterated: “That’s not going to happen in the Bureau of Prisons now.”
Roske flew from California to Maryland in June 2022, armed with a Glock pistol, ammunition, a knife, zip ties, pepper spray and burglary tools. He arrived outside Kavanaugh’s Chevy Chase home early that morning, spotted U.S. marshals and called 911 to report his suicidal and homicidal intentions, leading to his arrest without incident.
The plot was fueled by fury over a leaked draft opinion signaling the court’s intent to overturn Roe v. Wade, restoring states’ rights to protect innocent life from abortion. In online messages, Roske fumed: “The thought of Roe v Wade and gay marriage both being repealed has me furious.”
He added: “im gonna stop roe v wade from being overturned” by deciding to “remove some people from the supreme court.”
Roske aimed for “at least one, which would change the votes for decades to come,” and was “shooting for 3.”
His research delved into silent killing methods, such as “does twisting or dragging a knife cause more damage” and “how to break a lock,” alongside searches for the home addresses of Kavanaugh and two other conservative justices.
Roske told investigators the scheme stemmed from the leaked Dobbs draft and fears over gun rights rulings, believing the justices’ decisions had outsized impact: “I was thinking of the Roe decision. I feel like those 9 people make a much bigger impact than most people.”
U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman, a Biden appointee, imposed the sentence during a hearing at the federal courthouse in Greenbelt. Guidelines called for 30 years to life, but Boardman undid most of the terrorism enhancement, resulting in the lighter term.
Roske, in custody since his arrest, will receive credit for time served and face 25 years of supervised release. With good behavior, he could be released in four years.
Prosecutors sought at least 30 years to life, arguing in a September memo that Roske’s actions constituted “terrorism at its highest order” and an attempt to “single-handedly alter the constitutional order for ideological ends.”
Roske only began identifying as transgender — claiming to be female — after being jailed awaiting trial. His attorneys announced this ahead of sentencing, declining to change court records but requesting to refer to Roske as “she.”
Boardman referred to Roske as “she” throughout the hearing and took the false identity into account, expressing concerns that President Donald Trump’s policy — affirming biological reality that men are not women — would bar access to cross-sex hormones in a men’s facility.
“I am heartened that this terrible infraction has helped the Roske family… accept their daughter for who she is,” Boardman said of Roske’s mother. “I have attended PFLAG meetings and learned about the LGBTQ+ community. I am committed to going on this journey with Sophie.”
Boardman made these remarks while Kavanaugh’s family was in the courtroom.
Defense attorneys pushed for the eight-year term, citing Roske’s mental health struggles, cooperation and self-surrender. Roske wrote in a letter to the court: “sorry for contributing to a trend of political violence in American politics” and apologized to Kavanaugh.
The Justice Department swiftly announced plans to appeal the “light sentence.”
Pro-life advocates, who view Roske’s attack as a direct assault on the guardians of unborn life, condemned the sentence as a “horrific travesty of justice” that endangers the judiciary and emboldens extremists furious over the post-Dobbs protections saving thousands of babies annually. The lenient term, they argue, mocks the gravity of targeting justices like Kavanaugh, whose vote helped end the nationwide regime of abortion-on-demand responsible for over 63 million unborn deaths since 1973.
Roske’s case underscores the violent undercurrents of abortion extremism, especially amid recent attacks including the assassination of pro-life leader Charlie Kirk and the attempted assassination of President Trump. Advocates warn that such paltry punishments fail to deter those driven to murder in defense of child-killing, while the transgender claim highlights how identity politics can be weaponized to undermine accountability for threats to the pro-life rule of law.
