A Simi Valley man was charged Wednesday with attempted murder of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh after arriving armed outside the justice’s Maryland home hours earlier.
Nicholas John Roske, 26, appeared in US District Court in Maryland Wednesday before US Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Sullivan.
Roske was found in front of Kavanaugh’s home with a gun and other weapons after he called emergency personnel threatening to kill the Supreme Court justice and himself.
According to a federal affidavit, at 1:18 am Wednesday, two US deputy marshals watched Roske exit a taxi in front of the justice’s home. Clad in black clothing, the Simi Valley man carried a backpack and suitcase. The justice cited in the affidavit is Kavanaugh.
Roske called the Montgomery County Emergency Communications Center soon after, identified himself and said he was “having suicidal thoughts and had a firearm in his suitcase,” according to the affidavit.
Roske said he “came from California to kill” Kavanaugh, the documents say.
Montgomery County Police Department officers went to the location near Kavanaugh’s home, found Roske — who was still on the telephone with the communications center — and arrested him
Authorities later recovered a Glock pistol, a tactical knife, pepper spray, zip ties, a hammer and a crow bar from the suitcase and backpack, according to the affidavit.
Roske allegedly told Montgomery County police detectives he was upset about the leak of a recent Supreme Court draft decision regarding the right to abortion, as well as the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
“Roske stated that he began thinking about how to give his life a purpose and decided that he would kill the Supreme Court justice after finding the justice’s Montgomery County address on the internet,” according to the affidavit.
The Simi man told police he purchased the pistol and other items “for the purpose of breaking into the justice’s residence and killing the justice as well as himself,” the document said.
He repeated the death threats to an FBI agent before he was arrested.
During Wednesday’s court hearing, Roske consented to remain in federal custody for now, the Associated Press reported.
He paused several times before responding to routine inquiries from Sullivan during the 10-minute hearing, according to the AP.
Asked if he understood what was happening and whether he was thinking clearly, Roske paused, then said, “I think I have a reasonable understanding, but I wouldn’t say I’m thinking clearly.”
The 26-year-old said he is taking medication, but did not say what it is or why he is on it. He also said he is a college graduate.
Andrew Szekely, a federal public defender who is representing Roske, declined to comment on the case after the hearing. Roske’s next court date was tentatively set for June 22.
Roske faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.
In Simi Valley
Simi Valley Police Department Cmdr. Ritchie Lew said Wednesday the FBI had inquired about Roske and talked to some of their detectives, but he did not have additional information on the discussions.
Lew said Roske’s criminal record consisted of a minor traffic infraction in 2015, though he had no other details. He said the department had received a lot of calls about the Roske residence on Wednesday.
Lew said the FBI had not yet asked the police department for assistance.
The residential area of Roske’s home in eastern Simi Valley was quiet on Wednesday afternoon.
A few neighbors milled about outside in the hot June sun ogling at the media commotion in their usually undisturbed neighborhood. At least four TV news vans were parked along the street of single-story homes.
Michael Holbrook, a Simi Valley resident who lives next door, said the family who lived there usually kept to themselves and never caused any problems.
“They’re great neighbors,” Holbrook said. “I’m very dumbfounded.”
A Simi Valley police officer stood outside the residence briefly while a couple of plainclothes officers canvassed nearby homes.
Roske graduated from Simi Valley High School in 2014 and was on the cross country team for at least two years, said Jake Finch, a spokeswoman for Simi Valley Unified School District.
He worked at Valley Guard Pest Control in Simi Valley but quit last year, according to a representative from the company who refused to give his full name on Wednesday.
Read the full complaint:
This story may be updated.
Jeremy Childs, reports from USA Today and Associated Press contributed to this story.
Wes Woods II covers West County for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at wesley.woodsii@vcstar.com, 805-437-