WASHINGTON — A woman who pleaded guilty to attempting to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh three years ago was sentenced Friday to more than eight years in prison.
Sophie Roske, now 29, was arrested near Kavanaugh’s home in June 2022 and told officials at the time that she intended to kill the associate justice, then herself.
She appeared in court on Friday for her sentencing in a yellow jail jumpsuit. Members of Kavanaugh’s family as well as Roske’s were present at the sentencing.
U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman sentenced Roske to 97 months in prison — eight years and one month — saying that she felt Roske has shown remorse for her actions. She also ordered Roske, whom she referred to as a transgender woman, to a lifetime of supervised release.
“She has taken full responsibility for her actions,” Boardman said before handing down the sentence.
In a federal filing last month, Roske’s attorneys referred to her as Sophie Roske, though the case is still captioned by her legal name because she did not ask to recaption the case, her attorneys said.
In court on Friday, Coreen Mao, the attorney representing the Department of Justice, argued that the crime was premeditated because Roske had bought weapons on nine different occasions and made Google searches about serial killers and mass shootings. The government requested a 30 year sentence.
Mao said that if it were not for the presence of law enforcement by Kavanaugh’s home, Roske, who was 26 at the time, would have gone through with the assassination.
“The primary mission was assassination, not suicide,” Mao said.
A public defender for Roske, Ellie Marranzini, said her client wanted to kill Kavanaugh then herself, but changed her mind while in the taxi on her way to his house, adding that there is no evidence she saw the U.S. marshals stationed nearby. Roske’s attorneys said the government is minimizing the fact that she stopped and turned herself in by calling 911.
Roske’s parents addressed the court on Friday, vouching for their child. Her father, Vernon Roske, said he believes his child “can be a positive and productive member of the community.”
“Sophie has never hurt anyone,” Colleen Roske said. “It was completely out of character.”
Sophie Roske also addressed the court to apologize to Kavanaugh and express regret for her actions. She said she planned to kill herself after abandoning her original plan to kill Kavanaugh, but received a phone call from her sister that gave her “a renewed sense of hope.”
Kavanaugh’s wife and mother were also in the courtroom, as were representatives of the Supreme Court police department, according to a Supreme Court spokesperson.
Right before handing down her sentence, Boardman acknowledged the harm done to Kavanaugh and his family.
“He and his family should never have to face the fear of threat,” she said, adding that “political violence should never be accepted and should never ever be normalized.”
Roske was arrested near Kavanaugh’s home in Chevy Chase, Maryland, on June 8, 2022. She was armed with a handgun, a knife, pepper spray and burglary tools, officials said.
Deputy U.S. marshals spotted Roske — dressed in black and carrying a backpack and a suitcase — getting out of a cab in front of Kavanaugh’s house shortly after 1 a.m., according to a criminal complaint. Roske looked at the officers and then started walking down the street and called 911 on herself, the complaint said.
Several minutes of the 911 call was played in court Friday. Roske told police that she had come to Maryland from California to hurt Kavanaugh, that she had a gun in her suitcase, was having suicidal thoughts and needed psychiatric help, according to a recording of the call.
Roske allegedly told investigators that she decided to target Kavanaugh because she was angry about the possibility that the Supreme Court would overturn Roe v. Wade and about the deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. She said she thought Kavanaugh would loosen gun laws, the complaint said.
Roske initially pleaded not guilty in 2022 to attempting to assassinate Kavanaugh, but eventually pleaded guilty earlier this year without reaching a plea agreement with federal prosecutors.
Boardman said Roske will be housed in a male-only Bureau of Prisons facility, and says she took that into consideration when considering the severity of the sentence.
Boardman mentioned the ongoing litigation related to President Donald Trump’s executive order on transgender federal inmates. The order, which is currently on pause, directs the federal government to only recognize two genders — male and female — to place transgender women in men’s prisons, and cease funding for any gender-affirming medical care for inmates.
Gary Grumbach reported from Washington, D.C., and Mirna Alsharif from New York City.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988, or go to 988lifeline.org, to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the network, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 800-273-8255, or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources.
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