A federal judge is facing criticism from conservatives on social media over the sentence given to the person convicted of attempting to assassinate U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, as well as over the defendant’s gender identity.
U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman, a Biden appointee, sentenced Nicholas Roske—who now identifies as a transgender woman named Sophie—to eight years in prison on Friday for the 2022 assassination attempt. The incident occurred just weeks before the Supreme Court issued its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade.
The eight-year sentence was significantly less than 30 years sought by the Department of Justice. Roske’s defense team had requested an eight-year term, arguing that the defendant showed remorse and voluntarily contacted authorities before carrying out the attack.
Boardman said during a sentencing hearing that while Roske’s actions were “reprehensible,” she also considered a string of mitigating factors, including that Roske “spontaneously confessed to and cooperated with police.”
“Maryland U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman—a Biden appointee—is a national disgrace,” conservative lawyer Mike Davis, also strategist and former chief counsel for nominations to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, wrote on X on Friday.
“She only sentenced to 8 years, instead of 30, someone who attempted to murder Justice Kavanaugh and his family in their home. Make no mistake: Today’s Democrats want conservatives killed,” he added.
Another person wrote that Boardman “needs to be removed from the bench right the f— now.” The same person also shared a screenshot of a different post indicating that Boardman asked if Roske would be sent to a women’s prison despite the fact that he’s biologically male.
Author M.A. Rothman, meanwhile, called the sentence “pathetic.”
“A guy who showed up at a Supreme Court Justice’s house armed and ready to k*ll him just got a lighter sentence than some people get for tax crimes — and the judge turned it into a trans acceptance story,” he added. “This is beyond parody. The DOJ wanted 30 years. He got 8. And the media barely blinked.”
Another person on X balked at Boardman considering the “fact that he now identifies as a woman into giving him a lower sentence.”
The Justice Department quickly announced it would appeal the light sentence.
“The attempted assassination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was a disgusting attack against our entire judicial system by a profoundly disturbed individual,” US Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on X. “@TheJusticeDept will be appealing the woefully insufficient sentence imposed by the district court, which does not reflect the horrific facts of this case.”
Boardman was first appointed as a U.S. magistrate judge for the District of Maryland in 2019 before being nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as a U.S. district judge. She was confirmed by the Senate in 2021. Prior to her judicial appointments, Boardman worked as a federal public defender.
In a letter submitted to the court last month ahead of sentencing, Roske wrote that the planned attack was not “representative of who I am.” He said that once confronted with the reality of the situation outside Kavanaugh’s home, he abandoned the plan.
“I am very glad I did not continue,” Roske said in the letter, which he sent about a week after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. “I am also sorry for contributing to a trend of political violence in American politics.
“All I want is to go home to my friends and family and see what good I can do out in the world. Please, for their sake as much as mine, give me the chance to be the best version of myself,” Roske wrote, according to the Washington Times.
Roske attributed the plot to mental health struggles, describing periods of suicidal thoughts and difficulty reconciling gender identity with a “conservative Christian” upbringing.
Roske said therapy and medication provided some stability, but treatment was disrupted during the coronavirus pandemic after declining virtual therapy sessions, the outlet reported.