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The individual accused of attempting to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh has pleaded not guilty in federal court.
Nicholas John Roske, 26, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to one count of attempting to assassinate a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Roske allegedly traveled from California to Maryland and showed up in the neighborhood of Kavanaugh during the early morning hours of June 8 and was armed with a knife, pistol, ammunition, zip ties, pepper spray, duct tape, and other items that he allegedly told police that he was intending to use in order to kill the Supreme Court justice.
The individual told police that he had become upset by the leaked draft opinion that could spell out the reversal of Roe v. Wade. Roske also allegedly said that he believed the justice would decide to loosen gun laws following the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
ARMED SUSPECT ARRESTED NEAR JUSTICE KAVANAUGH HOME, CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER
A man was arrested near Justice Kavanaugh’s home in Maryland for allegedly threatening violence towards the justice.
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
Roske took a taxi to Kavanaugh’s neighborhood and was spotted by U.S. Marshals, but was apprehended after he called 911 and told the operator that he was having suicidal thoughts and was planning to kill Kavanaugh.
During the 15-minute 911 call, Roske said that he was “having thoughts,” and traveled from California to “act on them.”
Roske also texted his sister before dropping the plan to kill Kavanaugh and authorities believe that what she said led him to abandon the plan.
911 TAPES FROM KAVANAUGH ATTEMPTED MURDER ARREST SHOW SUSPECT GIVING UP: ‘I NEED PSYCHIATRIC HELP’
“This kind of behavior is obviously behavior we will not tolerate,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said following the incident. “Threats of violence and actual violence against the justices of course strike at the heart of our democracy and we will do everything we can to prevent them and to hold people who do them accountable.”
The charge of attempting to assassinate a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court comes with a maximum prison sentence of life in prison.
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Roske only raised his head a few times, answering basic questions from the judge when he stood to be sworn in during the court hearing on Wednesday.
A federal magistrate judge scheduled a jury trial to start on August 23.
Fox News’ Ronn Blitzer, Bradford Betz, and Jake Gibson contributed to this report
