Prosecutors are asking a federal judge to sentence the person who admitted to trying to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to at least 30 years in prison, calling the plot “bone-chilling” and an attack on the U.S. system of government.
In a filing, prosecutors said Sophie Roske methodically planned the assassination attempt in June 2022 at Kavanaugh’s Maryland home. They said the goal was to alter decisions by the court’s conservative majority and that such conduct warranted severe punishment, Politico reported.
“The defendant’s objective — to target and kill judges to seek to alter a court’s ruling — is an abhorrent form of terrorism and strikes at the core of the United States Constitution and our prescribed system of government,” U.S. Attorney for Maryland Kelly Hayes and other prosecutors wrote.
They argued that Roske’s actions have contributed to ongoing threats against justices, pointing to a letter Kavanaugh received earlier this year invoking Roske’s name and referencing a gunshot to the head.
Defense attorneys are asking for an eight-year sentence, citing long-standing mental health struggles and Roske’s gender identity. They revealed in their filing that Roske, 30, now identifies as a transgender woman and uses the first name Sophie and female pronouns. The case remains captioned under Roske’s legal name, which has not been changed.
“Out of respect for Ms. Roske, the balance of this pleading and counsel’s in-court argument will refer to her as Sophie and use female pronouns,” defense attorneys wrote.
The defense argued Roske acted “out of character,” in part due to the effects of medication, and had also struggled with self-esteem issues and gender identity. They submitted an undated handwritten apology letter from Roske to Kavanaugh and his family.
“I put them through a harrowing experience and for that I am truly sorry,” Roske wrote. “I am very glad I did not continue. I am also sorry for contributing to a trend of political violence in American politics.”
In an unusual step, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a statement on the government’s sentencing recommendation. “This attempt against the life of a Supreme Court Justice was an attack on the entire judicial system that cannot go unpunished,” she said.
Roske was arrested on June 8, 2022, outside Kavanaugh’s home in Chevy Chase, Maryland. She had flown from California hours earlier carrying a suitcase filled with a handgun, ammunition, a knife, a hammer, duct tape, zip ties and other tools. She encountered deputy U.S. marshals guarding the residence and walked away, later texting her sister. Her sister convinced her to call 911, and local police took her into custody without incident.
Authorities said Roske told investigators she intended to kill Kavanaugh and then herself. In April, she pleaded guilty to one count of attempted assassination of a Supreme Court justice after lengthy negotiations with prosecutors. There was no plea agreement.
Prosecutors say Roske had researched killing methods and serial killers months before the leaked draft opinion on abortion emerged in May 2022. After POLITICO published the draft showing the court was poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, Roske told investigators she grew furious. She was also concerned about the court reversing its 2015 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
“The thought of Roe v. Wade and gay marriage both being repealed has me furious,” prosecutors quoted an online post linked to Roske as saying.
The Justice Department’s submission said a victim impact statement could be submitted before sentencing but did not elaborate.
U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman, a Biden appointee based in Greenbelt, Maryland, is scheduled to sentence Roske on Oct. 3.
If prosecutors prevail, Roske would serve at least three decades in federal prison for a plot that they say could have shaken the foundation of the judicial system.