The United States Department of Justice has formally recommended a prison sentence for the man who tried to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. But according to Court documents, Nicholas John Roske is now "Sophia Roske."
Roske pleaded guilty to the crime in April of 2025, and a sentencing memo was filed on Friday in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland, according to a press release from the DOJ. The U.S. government is seeking a sentence of 30 years.
Roske claimed to suffer from severe mental illness at the time of his 2022 arrest. Now, that same instability appears to have driven him to identify as female, an episode that underscores both the growing trend of transgender-linked violence and the broader, unaddressed mental health crisis in America.
🚨 WTF?! The leftist who attempted to KlLL Trump Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh is has just come out as “TRANS”
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) September 19, 2025
From prison, he’s just filed to change his name from Nicholas Roske to “Sophia Roske”
EVERY. FREAKING. TIME.
TRANS TERRORlSM is a MASSIVE problem.
And not… pic.twitter.com/IJY39OqLZF
NEW: The man who attempted to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh identifies as a transgender woman and was deeply mentally ill and suicidal, according to documents first obtained by @realDailyWire.
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) September 19, 2025
Details below: 🧵 pic.twitter.com/6vrSK6ljLk
Roske was arrested on June 8, 2022, after traveling from his California home to Justice Kavanaugh’s residence. He had arrived at the Justice’s home around 1:00 a.m. by taxi and, upon seeing two deputy U.S. marshals guarding the property, called 911 on himself. Prosecutors said that Roske told police he was struggling with mental illness, experiencing suicidal and homicidal thoughts, and had come from California with the intent to kill Justice Kavanaugh. He was ultimately arrested and found in possession of a Glock pistol with two magazines, a knife, pepper spray, zip ties, and other equipment.