A federal judge sentenced a man to eight years in prison on Oct. 3 for attempting to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh three years ago.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) had said on Sept. 19 that it would seek a sentence of at least 30 years behind bars for the defendant, Nicholas John Roske.

Roske’s attorneys had told the court that his sentence should not exceed eight years because he called 911 to turn himself in and cooperated in the investigation.

In handing down the custodial sentence in Greenbelt, Maryland, U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman said Roske’s crime was “absolutely reprehensible,” but added that he demonstrated genuine remorse, had no prior criminal history, and was unlikely to reoffend.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Coreen Mao said at the sentencing hearing that the defendant “posed a very real threat to our system of government, our Constitution.”

No public official should have to live in fear of being killed at any time for doing their job, Mao added.

Addressing the court at the Oct. 3 hearing, Roske apologized to the justice and his family for “the considerable distress” he caused them.

“I have been portrayed as a monster, and this tragic mistake I made will follow me for the rest of my life,” he said.

Roske entered a guilty plea earlier this year. He previously said he wanted to kill Kavanaugh to prevent him from voting to overturn abortion rights and gun control laws, according to the FBI.

The incident took place on June 8, 2022, weeks after a leaked draft opinion indicated that the Supreme Court was about to overturn Roe v. Wade, a 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.

Roske’s attorneys said recently that their client now uses feminine pronouns and goes by Sophie Roske instead of his birth name, Nicholas John Roske.

In a Sept. 19 filing with the U.S. District Court in Maryland, DOJ said that Roske “made a concerted and focused attempt to undermine and subvert the United States government by assassinating—in the defendant’s own words, ‘at least one’ sitting justice of the United States Supreme Court.”

Roske said that he would be “shooting for three” justices, according to the filing.

The defendant’s plans were disrupted when he arrived at Kavanaugh’s residence by “the presence of a protective security detail, and the defendant was arrested at that location,” court documents state.

Prosecutors said Roske traveled from California in possession of a handgun, ammunition, pepper spray, and a crowbar with the intent to commit murder “for terroristic purposes.”

When he arrived at the justice’s Maryland residence, Roske contacted police after observing U.S. marshals posted at the site. He told the dispatcher he was suicidal and planned to kill Kavanaugh, court documents state.

Roske, who was 26 at the time of the plot, has been incarcerated at a jail in Maryland since the 2022 arrest and should receive credit for time served, the lawyers said.

Attorney General Pamela Bondi said last month in a statement: “This attempt against the life of a Supreme Court Justice was an attack on the entire judicial system that cannot go unpunished.

“This Department of Justice condemns political violence and our prosecutors will ensure that this disturbed individual faces severe consequences for his deranged actions.”

The Epoch Times reached out for comment on the sentencing to the DOJ and Roske’s legal team. No replies were received by publication time.

Reuters and Juliette Fairley contributed to this report.

This article by Matthew Vadum appeared Oct. 3, 2025, in The Epoch Times.

Photo: Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh