Biden-Appointed Judge Asks If Man Who Attempted To Assassinate Kavanaugh Will Be Treated As Woman

GREENBELT, Maryland — The judge who will sentence Nicholas Roske, who pleaded guilty to attempting to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, asked prosecutors Friday morning about his transgender identity.

The government is asking for at least a 30-year prison sentence for Roske, whose defense attorneys revealed in a Sept. 19 filing is using female pronouns and going by the name “Sophie.”

“Let’s talk about the fact that Ms. Roske is a transgender woman,” Judge Deborah Boardman, a Biden appointee, said during the hearing. “What will happen to her as far as where she will be designated, and whether or not she will be allowed to get hormone replacement therapy if she desires it and a doctor prescribes it?”

Boardman’s question followed others about what length of sentence is needed to provide deterrence and whether prisons are properly equipped to treat mentally ill prisoners. She pointed to President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting men from being housed in women’s prisons.

“Let’s not hide the fact that there is an executive order that essentially says individuals will be assigned to a facility according to the gender of their birth,” she said. “According to the executive order, my understanding is Ms. Roske will be assigned to an all-male BOP facility.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Coreen Mao noted litigation over the executive order is ongoing.

“I don’t know the status of that litigation,” Mao said. “I can’t say with accuracy. Certainly to the extent that Your Honor is thinking about this specific consideration as a variance, our response would be that it is a prospective variance.”