The California native who traveled cross-country in 2022 with a gun, zip ties, and a deadly plan to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh will spend just over eight years behind bars—a sentence far shorter than prosecutors demanded.
Sophie Roske, who had gone by Nicholas at the time of the crime, stood quietly as the federal judge in Maryland described her actions as “absolutely reprehensible,” but tempered by what the court saw as genuine remorse. Along with her prison term, Roske faces lifetime supervision and is barred from visiting Washington, D.C., without permission.
Prosecutors had urged a minimum of 30 years, arguing Roske’s mission was meticulously planned and intended to send a message of terror at a time when the nation’s highest court was on the verge of reshaping abortion and gun rights. The Justice Department swiftly condemned the lighter sentence as “woefully insufficient,” signaling plans to appeal.
In April, Roske pleaded guilty to attempted assassination. She had set out from California carrying a handgun, ammunition, and tools to break into Kavanaugh’s home. But upon spotting federal marshals stationed outside, she turned herself in, calling police to confess that she was suicidal and intended to kill the justice.
At the hearing, Roske addressed the court, her voice cracking as she apologized to Kavanaugh and his family for “the considerable distress” she had caused. “I have been portrayed as a monster,” she said, “and this tragic mistake will follow me for the rest of my life.”
The judge acknowledged that Roske “got far too close” to acting on her plan but noted she ultimately abandoned it—a critical factor in sparing her a far longer sentence. Defense attorneys had urged leniency, saying she should be judged for what she did, not what she contemplated.
The case arrives amid a surge in political violence across the United States—two assassination attempts on Donald Trump during his recent campaign, the killing of activist Charlie Kirk, and a dramatic rise in threats against federal judges.
The image of Roske’s surrender remains one of the rare moments where a deadly plot unraveled not through intervention, but through the perpetrator’s own change of heart—an ending both haunting and fragile in an age of growing rage.
