A California man who was arrested near Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s Maryland home in June and accused of plotting an assassination attempt said he was “shooting for 3” Supreme Court justices, according to an FBI search warrant affidavit.
Prosecutors have alleged 26-year-old Nicholas John Roske traveled thousands of miles to Kavanaugh’s home with a pistol, ammunition, a knife, and stealthy gear in an attempt to kill the justice on June 8 just after midnight. He used Google to search terms including the most “effective place to stab someone” and “quietest semi auto rifle,” the July 26 affidavit states.
Federal agents have also obtained warrants for several instances of Roske’s online chat history, including messages exchanged with users on Reddit and communication platform Discord.
MAN ACCUSED OF ATTEMPTED KAVANAUGH ASSASSINATION WANTS CONFESSIONS THROWN OUT
“Two dead judges ain’t gonna do nothing,” an unnamed user on Discord sent in a message to Roske. “You would die before you killed them all.”
He responded that he “could get at least one, which would change the votes for decades to come, and I am shooting for 3.” It is not immediately known whom the additional targets were.
Roske, who was motivated by anger that Kavanaugh would help overturn Roe v. Wade and in part by persistent mass shootings in the country, was indicted last month by a federal grand jury for an “attempt to assassinate” the Supreme Court justice, according to court records.
The most recent revelations on Roske’s alleged plot came from FBI special agent Ian Montijo, who previously wrote an affidavit detailing Roske’s confessed intention to kill Kavanaugh and then take his own life.
The July 26 search warrant affidavit shows that between May 5 and his June 8 arrival in Chevy Chase, Maryland, Roske made several Google searches for phrases including “Reagan assassination attempt,” “assassin skills,” “assassin equipment,” “assassinations,” “supreme court,” “how to be stealthy,” “gun lubricant,” and several other terms on similar subject matter.
He even visited the Supreme Court’s webpage in an apparent effort to determine who the current members of the court are, as his phone web history shows he visited the “Current Members” page of the Supreme Court’s website.
During that period, Roske also posted to a subreddit on May 10 titled “r/TwoXChromosomes,” an online community “intended for women’s perspectives,” asking online users: “Would Kavanaugh being removed from the SC help women long term?”
Just after midnight on June 8, Roske approached Kavanaugh’s house with burglary tools, a knife, a gun, pepper spray, and a pair of special boots with outer soles allowing stealth movement inside a house, though he walked away when he spotted a pair of deputy U.S. marshals outside Kavanaugh’s home, according to court records.
After he turned away and walked down the streets of Kavanaugh’s neighborhood, Roske texted his sister, police told the Washington Examiner. She convinced Roske to call 911, which he did.
Roske has pleaded not guilty to the charge of attempting to assassinate a sitting Supreme Court justice. Federal public defender James Wyda also requested on the week of July 15 that the court throw out confessions Roske had made at the location of his arrest and then at the police station.
Read the full FBI search warrant affidavit below:
