Armed Trip To Kill Conservative Justices

A federal judge gave a would-be Supreme Court assassin just eight years, and now the Trump Justice Department is fighting to keep this dangerous ideologue behind bars for decades.

Story Snapshot

A transgender California resident traveled armed to Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home intending to kill him and other conservative justices.
Federal guidelines called for roughly 27 to 34 years in prison, but Judge Deborah Boardman gave only 97 months.
Attorney General Pam Bondi blasted the punishment as “woefully insufficient” and ordered an appeal.
The clash highlights a deeper fight over protecting conservative justices and restoring equal justice under the law.

Armed Trip To Kill Conservative Justices

In June 2022, California resident Sophie Roske, who was charged under the legal name Nicholas John Roske, flew across the country to Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s Maryland home with a gun and gear to break in, restrain, and assassinate the justice.^[6] According to charging documents and later reporting, Roske admitted planning to kill at least one conservative justice after the draft ruling that would overturn Roe v. Wade leaked, hoping to change the court’s direction for decades.^[4] Prosecutors say this was not a protest gone wrong; it was a targeted attack on the Supreme Court.

Federal investigators say Roske arrived near Kavanaugh’s home with a Glock 17 pistol, ammunition, zip ties, and tools to force entry.^[6] Roske told authorities that the goal was to kill the justice because of his expected vote on abortion and gun rights.^[4] This was a direct attack on the separation of powers and on the right of justices to decide cases without fearing for their lives. If political violence against judges is rewarded with light punishment, every controversial Supreme Court decision becomes a potential death sentence for a conservative justice.

The Eight-Year Sentence And Why Bondi Is Appealing

On October 3, 2025, United States District Judge Deborah Boardman sentenced Roske to 97 months—just over eight years—in federal prison, plus lifetime supervised release, after Roske pleaded guilty to attempted murder of a Supreme Court justice.^[4] Federal sentencing guidelines calculated for this case recommended a range of about 324 to 405 months in prison, roughly 27 to 34 years, because of the planned killing of a top federal official and the evidence of preparation for multiple murders.^[6]^[13] The Trump Justice Department urged the court to follow that range and asked for at least 30 years behind bars.^[6]

Judge Boardman, a judge appointed during the Biden administration, chose to go far below both the guidelines and the prosecution’s request, landing just one month above what Roske’s defense team asked for.^[13] The judge said the shorter term was due in part to Roske calling 911, cooperating with police, and not stepping onto the justice’s property.^[1]^[12] Attorney General Pam Bondi responded that the sentence does not match the “horrific facts” of a planned assassination of a Supreme Court justice and vowed that the Department of Justice (DOJ) would appeal what she called a “woefully insufficient” and “grossly inadequate” sentence.^[7]^[20]

Leniency For Aborted Attack Versus Deterrence And Equal Justice

Supporters of the 97-month sentence argue that Roske’s decision to surrender before entering the home, along with mental health and background factors, justified a large break from the harsh guideline range.^[1]^[12] They point out that judges can consider such mitigating details and are not forced to follow the guideline number, and that Roske never fired the weapon or even reached the front door. These voices frame the punishment as firm but compassionate, especially combined with lifetime supervision after release.^[2]

Critics, including many conservatives in Congress, say that logic turns basic justice upside down.^[2] They stress that Roske still crossed the country with a loaded gun and a plan to kill a justice over his conservative views, yet will likely be younger than 40 when leaving prison. They warn that such leniency, especially when granted by a judge appointed during a Democrat administration, sends a message that attempted political assassinations of conservative judges are somehow understandable or excusable if the attacker later has second thoughts.^[2]

Media Spin, “Weaponization” Claims, And What Comes Next

Major legacy outlets like The Washington Post and others have poured far more ink into questioning the DOJ appeal than into the original eight-year sentence.^[8] Their coverage often stresses Roske’s troubled background and transgender status, and suggests that the appeal may be politically driven, even though the same critics regularly accuse Republican administrations of “weaponizing” the Justice Department whenever they enforce the law against left-wing offenders.^[20]^[26] Some legal commentators insist that the appeal is unlikely to succeed, since the sentence falls within the broad range of a judge’s discretion.^[2]

WaPo: DOJ Will Appeal 'Her' Sentence to Keep Would-Be Assassin 'Sophie' Roske Behind Bars https://t.co/HLjkq95T5z

— Carol RN *Miss Rush & the Gipper* 👩‍⚕️🇺🇸 🇮🇱🦈 (@pasqueflower19) June 23, 2026

For many conservative readers, this case has become a test of whether political violence against the right will be punished as seriously as violence against anyone else. The Trump administration’s DOJ is arguing that an eight-year sentence for an armed plot to assassinate a Supreme Court justice is not enough to deter future attacks or to honor the rule of law.^[6]^[7] If a federal appeals court agrees, Roske could face a new sentencing hearing and a term closer to the guideline range. Whatever happens next, the message from millions of patriots is simple: no one who hunts Supreme Court justices because they defend the Constitution should ever catch a lenient break.