Woman sentenced 8 years for attempting to assassinate US Supreme Court justice

Sophie Roske, who pleaded guilty to attempting to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2022, has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison.

U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman on Friday sentenced Roske, 29, to 97 months, eight years and one month, followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Boardman, acknowledging Roske’s remorse, told the court, “She has taken full responsibility for her actions.”

Roske was arrested on June 8, 2022, outside Kavanaugh’s Maryland home, armed with a handgun, knife, pepper spray, and burglary tools.

According to officials, she arrived by taxi dressed in black, carrying a backpack and suitcase. Upon seeing U.S. marshals outside the residence, she walked away and dialed 911 to report herself.

Prosecutors, however, described the crime as premeditated. Justice Department attorney Coreen Mao argued that Roske had purchased weapons on nine occasions and conducted Google searches about serial killers and mass shootings.

“The primary mission was assassination, not suicide,” Mao told the court, as the government pushed for a 30-year sentence.

Defense attorney Ellie Marranzini countered that Roske abandoned her plan before reaching Kavanaugh’s home and stressed that her client called 911 to surrender.

“She wanted to kill Justice Kavanaugh and then herself, but changed her mind in the taxi,” Marranzini said.

Roske herself addressed the courtroom, apologizing to Kavanaugh and his family.

She revealed that she intended to take her own life after abandoning the plot but was saved by “a renewed sense of hope” after a phone call from her sister.

Her parents also spoke in her defense. “Sophie has never hurt anyone,” her mother, Colleen Roske, said. “It was completely out of character.”

Her father, Vernon Roske, added that he believes his child “can be a positive and productive member of the community.”

Judge Boardman noted the impact on Kavanaugh’s family. “He and his family should never have to face the fear of threat,” she said, warning that “political violence should never be accepted and should never ever be normalized.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi condemned the ruling as “woefully insufficient” and announced the Department of Justice would appeal.

“The attempted assassination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was a disgusting attack against our entire judicial system by a profoundly disturbed individual,” Bondi said.

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Roske will serve her time in a male-only Bureau of Prisons facility. Judge Boardman acknowledged this in her sentencing, citing ongoing litigation over former President Donald Trump’s executive order on transgender inmates, which seeks to restrict gender recognition and medical care in federal prisons.