On Tuesday, Mr. Roske, 29, of Simi Valley, Calif., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Md., to a charge of attempting to assassinate a Supreme Court justice. He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison at his sentencing on Oct. 3, his lawyer said.
“Nicholas Roske appeared in court today and accepted full responsibility for his conduct by pleading guilty,” the lawyer, Andrew Szekely, said in a statement. “Mr. Roske’s accountability began on June 8, 2022, when, in the throes of a mental health crisis, he called 911, told police where he was and what he was doing and asked for help. After his call, Mr. Roske cooperated with the authorities to ensure he was safely taken into custody.”
In a statement on Tuesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi said she welcomed the guilty plea.
“This calculated attempt on the life of a sitting U.S. Supreme Court justice was a heinous attack on the court itself,” she said. “Anyone who thinks they can use violence or intimidation to influence our courts will be met with the full force of the law and face up to life in prison.”
In court documents, prosecutors said that, in the spring of 2022, Mr. Roske developed a plan to assassinate “one or more” Supreme Court justices. He searched for their home addresses on the internet and looked up ways to break and enter into homes and ways to kill people, prosecutors said.
“The thought of Roe v Wade and gay marriage both being repealed has me furious,” he told an unnamed user on an encrypted messaging app on May 25, 2022, prosecutors said. Two days later, prosecutors said, he told the same user that, “i could get at least one, which would change the votes for decades to come. and I am shooting for 3.”
