The White House is condemning an individual who was arrested near Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home who allegedly intended to murder the judge.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre said, “The President condemns the actions of this individual in the strongest terms and is grateful to law enforcement for quickly taking him into custody.”
“As [Biden] has consistently made clear, public officials, including judges, must be able to do their jobs without concern for their personal safety or that of their families’. And any violence, threats of violence or attempts to intimidate justices have no place in our society,” she added.
"As @POTUS has consistently made clear, public officials including judges must be able to do their jobs w/o concern for their personal safety or that of their families'. & Any violence, threats of violence or attempts to intimidate justices have no place in our society." (2/2)
— Julia Jester (@JulesJester) June 8, 2022
As The Wall Street Journal reports, Nicholas John Roske, 26, of California, was arrested near Kavanaugh’s Maryland home early Wednesday morning.
Roske was reportedly carrying a knife, a pistol, ammunition, two magazines, pepper spray, and zip ties.
He was reportedly spotted by federal agents wearing all black, carrying a backpack and a suitcase, and got out of a taxi outside Kavanaugh’s home.
The Journal reports, “After seeing agents in front of Mr. Kavanaugh’s house, Mr. Roske walked away and called the Montgomery County Emergency Communications Center and said that he was having suicidal thoughts and had a firearm in his suitcase—and said he planned to kill Justice Kavanaugh, according to prosecutors. He was arrested while still on the call.”
“After being transported to a police station, Mr. Roske allegedly told detectives that he was upset about the leaked draft opinion as well as the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas,” it added.
Roske has been charged with attempted murder.
Politico reported last month that a draft opinion appeared to show that the Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade. Kavanaugh was one of the justices who joined that draft opinion.
During a speech on Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said, “This is where we are…if these reports are correct, an assassination attempt against a sitting justice, or something close to it.”
“This is exactly the kind of event that many worried the unhinged, reckless apocalyptic [rhetoric] from prominent figures toward the court, going back many months, and especially in recent weeks, could make more likely,” he added.
Meanwhile, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said in a statement, “I call on leaders in both parties in Washington to strongly condemn these actions in no uncertain terms.”
“It is vital to our constitutional system that the justices be able to carry out their duties without fear of violence against them and their families,” he added.
And Attorney General Merrick Garland told reporters that in May, he “accelerated the protection of all the justices’ residences 24/7.”
Garland also said he met with several law enforcement agencies to “ensure every degree of protection available is possible.”
“Threats of violence, and actual violence, against the justices, of course, strike at the heart of our democracy,” the attorney general said, adding, “We will do everything we can to prevent them, and to hold people who do them accountable.”
