Nicholas Roske, the man who plead guilty to attempting to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2022, could get off with a slap on the wrist — because Roske is transgender.
According to new court documents, parents and family of Roske are arguing that their son should be treated leniently and given an opportunity to “thrive” as a transgender woman.
In letters dated September 19, Roske’s family describes the 29-year-old attempted assassin as “Sophie,” use female pronouns to describe Roske, and pushes for leniency for their family member, who pleaded guilty to the attempt to kill a United States Supreme Court Justice in April 2025.
In 2022, authorities arrested Roske in Kavanaugh’s neighborhood, carrying a bag full of weapons and burglary tools.
According to the newly published documents, Roske’s family pleaded with Judge Deborah Boardman that “Sophie” needs therapy, relaxation, and the outdoors in order for him to ultimately “thrive.” His sister specifically expresses fears about him being placed in a male prison “with limited access to gender affirming care.”
Last month it was reported that Roske’s legal team told the court he identifies as transgender and would be referred to as “Sophie.”
Based on the family letters filed in court, it now appears that this is potentially part of its legal strategy.
“Placing Sophie in long term incarceration would stunt her ability to thrive and severely impact her overall life trajectory,” writes Olivia Roske, the gay sister of the attempted assassin. “Sophie needs a balanced life and appropriate support from loving people, not incarceration. Luckily, she has many loved ones eager to show her support, and we need her home in order to fully provide that to her.”
“Sophie has so much to offer the [world],” Roske’s sister insists, “and I ask that you allow her to live that out fully.”
However, Justice Department attorneys are continuing to push that Roske be given 30 years in prison.
According to reports, DOJ attorney asked that the court’s sentence “must send the unequivocal, clear, and strong message that attempted violence and threats of violence against members of the judiciary — as well as other public and federal officials — cannot and will not be tolerated, and will be justly and severely condemned.”
They specifically state that the court’s sentence must be significant enough to not only “reflect the harm sought to be inflicted on the judiciary,” but also to send a message that the “consequences for these acts — no fewer than 30 years to life in prison — are not worth the perceived ideological ends.”
September DOJ filings show that Roske “meticulously researched, planned, and attempted to assassinate at least one — but had a stated target of three — sitting judges of the United States Supreme Court” with the “explicit objective” of “single-handedly” altering “the Constitutional order for ideological ends.”
Roske also conducted internet searches for the homes of the four Justices, purchased a Glock 17 pistol, ammunition, a rail-mounted tactical light with a laser sight, tactical gloves, non-slip grip socks, cable ties, pepper spray, a lock-pick set, a screwdriver, and a wrecking bar.
Roske pleaded guilty to attempting to murder a justice of the United States without reaching a plea agreement with federal prosecutors.
After his arrest, Roske told a police detective that he was upset about a leaked draft opinion suggesting the Supreme Court intended to overrule Roe v. Wade, the landmark abortion case, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit.
Killing one judge could change the decisions of the nine-member court “for decades to come,” Roske wrote over an encrypted messaging platform to another user in May 2022. Roske added.
“I am shooting for 3.”