Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh attends a breakfast in Washington, D.C., March 12, 2025. (Niall Carson/PA Images via Getty Images)
Kavanaugh also received a death threat in April from someone who invoked Roske's name and referenced shooting the justice in the head, Mao said, stressing a need to deter such behavior. That revelation comes as judges say they have faced a rise in threats from people across the political spectrum in recent years.
During the hearing, Boardman referred to Roske as a transgender woman, and Roske's attorneys told the court recently that while their client's legal name is Nicholas, Roske goes by the name Sophie and uses female pronouns.
Boardman, a Biden appointee, said she factored into the sentence her concern about Trump's executive order requiring transgender inmates to be detained in prisons that correspond to their sex at birth.
Roske pleaded guilty in April to one charge of attempting to murder a Supreme Court justice, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
On June 8, 2022, Roske flew from California to Virginia and took a taxi to Kavanaugh’s address, armed with a pistol, knife, lock picking set, duct tape, hammer, crowbar and tactical gear.
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Crowds outside the court reacting to the Dobbs ruling in June 2022. (Joshua Comins/Fox News)
Roske’s "goal explicitly was both to alter the outcome of a pending Supreme Court case, a consequential case," and "to change the composition of the court for decades to come," Mao argued to the judge.
Appearing in a yellow jumpsuit in the courtroom, Roske apologized for terrorizing Kavanaugh and his family and for "contributing to the fear judges experience as a result of doing their jobs."
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"I have been portrayed as a monster, and this tragic mistake I made will follow me for the rest of my life," Roske said.
The judge also sentenced Roske to a lifetime of supervised release. The DOJ is able to appeal the sentence because it is well under the sentencing guidelines.
Ashley Oliver is a reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business, covering the Justice Department and legal affairs. Email story tips to ashley.oliver@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/justice-kavanaughs-attempted-assassin-sentenced-8-years-prison