Armed man arrested over alleged plot to kill Justice Kavanaugh

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• An armed California man arrested near Brett Kavanaugh’s home was charged with attempted murder.
• The suspect told police that he was angry the court may overturn abortion rights, according to court documents.
• The FBI alleged in court documents that the man was carrying a gun, a knife, and zip ties inside a suitcase and backpack they seized from him. 

An armed man, who was arrested Wednesday near the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in Maryland, was charged with attempted murder.

According to a press release from the U.S. attorney in the District of Maryland, the suspect was identified as Nicholas John Roske, a 26-year-old resident of Simi Valley, California. He was spotted by two U.S. Deputy Marshals getting out of a taxi outside Kavanaugh’s home early Wednesday morning. Roske was dressed in black and was carrying a backpack and a suitcase. When he saw the marshals, he walked away and called Montgomery County Emergency Communications Center.

Allegedly, Roske told the emergency center that he was having suicidal thoughts and wanted to kill Justice Kavanaugh.

After confiscating Roske’s backpack and suitcase, the FBI alleged in court documents that the suspect was carrying a black tactical chest rig and tactical knife, a pistol with two magazines and ammunition, pepper spray, zip ties, tools, and other tools.

Roske allegedly told investigators at the Montgomery County Police Department he was angry about the Supreme Court may overturn abortion rights and the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

“This kind of behavior is obviously behavior that we will not tolerate,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said Wednesday. “Threats of violence and actual violence against the justices of course strike at the heart of our democracy and we will do everything we can to prevent them and to hold people who do them accountable.”

According to a memo reported by Axios, threats against justices, lawmakers and other public officials, clergy and health care providers “are likely to persist and may increase leading up to and following the issuing of the Court’s official ruling.”

Since the draft opinion was leaked, security around the Supreme Court and its justices was increased — a fence was erected around its building in Washington, and police presence outside the justices’ homes was also increased.

The DHS issued a new bulletin Tuesday, warning of a growing terror threat across the country, citing the impending Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade as an example.

“Individuals who advocate both for and against abortion have, on public forums, encouraged violence, including against government, religious, and reproductive healthcare personnel and facilities, as well as those with opposing ideologies,” the DHS bulletin released Tuesday said.

Source: People