(AFP) – The would-be assassin of US Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was sentenced Friday to just over eight years in prison — far less than the 30 years prosecutors had sought. US Attorney General Pam Bondi said the government would appeal what she called a “woefully insufficient sentence.”
Sophie Roske — who was listed under her birth name Nicholas Roske in court documents but has since chosen to identify as a woman and use female pronouns — traveled to the justice’s home in June 2022. After spotting two US Marshals standing guard, she walked away and called emergency services on herself. That decision weighed in Roske’s favor during sentencing.
“Anyone who thinks they can intimidate a judge or her family by threatening to harm or engage in violence against them is mistaken and they will be caught and punished,” US Judge Deborah Boardman said, according to broadcaster WUSA9. But she added: “It’s truly remarkable, extraordinary, that Sophie Roske called 911 on her own, asked for help, and told the police about her crime.”
Roske, then 26, told officials she had traveled from California with a gun and other weapons because she was upset about a looming Supreme Court ruling overturning abortion rights that had been leaked to the press. She pleaded guilty this past April.
The Department of Justice sought 30 years to life in prison, arguing: “The conduct falls within the quintessential definition of terrorism: the use of violence or threats of violence to achieve a political goal.” The government’s sentencing memo also cited a Discord message in which Roske wrote: “I am shooting for 3” — indicating she had considered targeting additional justices beyond Kavanaugh.
“This attempt against the life of a Supreme Court Justice was an attack on the entire judicial system that cannot go unpunished,” Bondi said in a statement last month. Defense attorneys countered that her actions were mitigated by her voluntary abandonment of the plan, disclosure of the offense, peaceful surrender, cooperation with authorities, and history of mental illness. They had urged Boardman, appointed by former president Joe Biden, to go below sentencing guidelines, writing: “Sophie’s offense conduct stands in stark contrast to the rest of her personal history.”
“I sincerely apologize to the justice and his family,” Roske said in court, according to CNN. Appointed by Donald Trump during his first term as president, Kavanaugh is one of six justices in the court’s conservative wing, against three progressives. The sentencing comes at a time when political violence is in the spotlight, following the killing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk last month.
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