On October 3, 2025, a federal courtroom in Greenbelt, Maryland, became the setting for a case that has gripped the nation and thrown a spotlight on the rising tide of threats against America’s judiciary. Sophie Roske, a 29-year-old California resident who pleaded guilty to attempting to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, was sentenced to just over eight years in prison—far less than the three-decade term sought by federal prosecutors. The sentencing has sparked fierce debate, with the Department of Justice vowing to appeal what it called a “woefully insufficient” punishment for a crime that prosecutors described as a direct attack on the U.S. constitutional order.
Roske’s case is extraordinary not only for its target—a sitting Supreme Court justice—but also for the chilling details of its planning and the context in which it unfolded. According to court records cited by ABC News, Roske spent weeks researching the homes of four conservative justices, purchasing weapons and tactical gear, and plotting a cross-country journey with the intent to “break in, restrain Kavanaugh, and ultimately kill him.”
On June 8, 2022, Roske boarded a flight from California to Washington Dulles International Airport. Carrying a Glock 17 pistol, ammunition, zip ties, pepper spray, a lock pick set, crowbar, tactical gloves, and even a thermal imaging monocular, Roske took a taxi directly to Kavanaugh’s suburban Maryland home in the dead of night. The plan, prosecutors said, was clear and chillingly detailed: assassinate Justice Kavanaugh before he could cast a decisive vote to overturn Roe v. Wade in the then-pending Dobbs decision, and potentially target other conservative justices as well.
Yet, as the Washington Post and Fox News both reported, the plot unraveled not with violence, but with a phone call. Upon noticing U.S. Marshals stationed outside the Kavanaugh residence—a security measure put in place amid heightened protests and threats after the leak of the Dobbs draft—Roske hesitated. After speaking with her sister on the phone, Roske dialed 911, reporting herself to authorities and confessing both homicidal and suicidal thoughts. This act of self-reporting, U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman later observed, was “not the conduct of a person who is inherently dangerous.”
“In my 17 years of experience in federal criminal law in the District of Maryland, as a public defender and as a judge, I have never heard of another criminal defendant doing that,” Judge Boardman said from the bench, according to ABC News. “That shows me that something inside of her stopped her from inflicting harm on another human being.”
The defense leaned heavily on these mitigating factors, as well as on Roske’s troubled mental health history. Court documents and testimony revealed that Roske, an Eagle Scout and active church member in her youth, had struggled with severe depression and multiple suicide attempts since high school. In 2020, Roske realized she was transgender but kept it secret from her conservative parents, leading to further emotional turmoil. By 2022, Roske’s mental health had deteriorated to the point of contemplating both homicide and suicide, fueled by the political firestorm surrounding the Supreme Court and the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
During the sentencing hearing, Roske—dressed in a yellow jumpsuit—offered a tearful apology: “I sincerely apologize to the justice and his family for the considerable distress I put them through. I am also deeply sorry to the Justice Department for contributing to the fear judges experience as a result of doing their jobs.” Roske’s family members testified in her support, and letters from her parents and sister were submitted, pleading for leniency and emphasizing her remorse and need for mental health treatment.
Despite these appeals, federal prosecutors pressed for a sentence of at least 30 years, arguing that Roske’s actions constituted a singularly heinous act of domestic terrorism. Assistant U.S. Attorney Coreen Mao told the court, “No judge or public official should have to live under the fear thinking that at any moment, at any given day, at any given time, that they could be killed in cold blood simply for doing their job.” Mao also revealed that in April 2025, Justice Kavanaugh received a death threat referencing Roske and a gunshot to the head, evidence, she argued, that Roske’s plot had inspired ongoing threats against the judiciary.
“The sentence must send the message that the costs imposed for attempting to override our constitutional system of government through attempted murder vastly outweigh any perceived benefit,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo. They displayed in court the arsenal found in Roske’s possession, underscoring the seriousness of the plot and the threat it posed not only to Kavanaugh and his family, but to the entire judicial system.
Judge Boardman, however, was not swayed by the government’s argument that only the presence of U.S. Marshals prevented Roske from carrying out the assassination. She credited Roske for calling authorities and for her cooperation with law enforcement, as well as her lack of criminal history and demonstrated remorse. The judge also cited concerns about Roske’s safety and well-being in prison, given President Donald Trump’s recent executive order requiring transgender inmates to be housed according to their birth gender and restricting gender-affirming care. “Let’s not hide” the impact of that policy, Boardman said, acknowledging the heightened risks Roske would face as a transgender woman in a male facility.
In the end, the judge sentenced Roske to 97 months—just over eight years—in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Roske must also forfeit all weapons and tactical items seized at her arrest and pay a $100 special assessment fee. After serving her sentence, she will remain under close supervision, with the hope, Judge Boardman said, that a lengthy period of supervised release would allow Roske to receive effective mental health treatment.
The Department of Justice, for its part, immediately announced plans to appeal the sentence. “The attempted assassination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was a disgusting attack against our entire judicial system by a profoundly disturbed individual,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi in a statement. “The Department of Justice will be appealing the woefully insufficient sentence imposed by the district court, which does not reflect the horrific facts of this case.”
The case comes at a time when threats against federal judges are at an all-time high. According to the U.S. Marshals Service, there were 562 threats against federal judges in the last fiscal year alone. The attempted assassination of Justice Kavanaugh—alongside recent high-profile incidents, including the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk—has heightened concerns about the security of the nation’s judiciary and the broader climate of political violence.
For now, the courtroom drama is over, but the debate over justice, deterrence, and the safety of public officials is far from settled. The outcome of the Justice Department’s appeal, and the ongoing conversation about how to protect both the rule of law and the rights of the accused, will be watched closely in the months to come.
