The Kavanaugh assassination plot deserved far more than 8 years

What’s the going rate for attempting to assassinate a Supreme Court justice these days?

According to a Biden-appointed judge in Maryland, it’s 97 months – just over eight years, less time than you’d serve for many nonviolent crimes.

Judge Deborah Boardman’s shockingly lenient sentence for Nicholas Roske’s attempt to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh represents not just a failure of justice, but a danger to our system of self-government.

Recall what the assassination attempt was about and what preceded it. In March 2020, on the day of oral argument in an abortion case (June Medical Services v. Russo), then-Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer stood in front of the Supreme Court building and threatened two justices:

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"I want to tell you, Gorsuch. I want to tell you, Kavanaugh. You have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions."

It was appalling rhetoric and an attempt to intimidate the justices.

Two years later, the ultimate abortion case arrived at the court: Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. In early May 2022, the draft opinion was leaked, presumably in an effort to thwart the coming overturning of Roe v. Wade. Roske’s assassination attempt on Kavanaugh and arrest occurred a month later, on June 8.

Roske’s immediate motive, of course, was to change the composition of the Supreme Court and thus the outcome of the Dobbs case. It is impossible to overstate the gravity of this offense – not just attempted murder, but an act of domestic terror and a grave assault on our system of government.

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And it turns out that Kavanaugh wasn’t his only target. Roske said he hoped to murder three justices in order to derail the court.

Recent years have brought repeated acts of political violence against conservatives: the serious wounding of Rep. Steve Scalise, the attempts on President Donald Trump’s life, and the assassination of Charlie Kirk are the most prominent examples. The recent deadly shooting at an ICE facility in Dallas came at the hands of a sniper who targeted ICE agents.

And just this week, a man with 200 explosives was arrested outside St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington soon before the Red Mass, which traditionally has been attended by several justices. The perpetrator was found with a manifesto that suggested that his targets were members of the Supreme Court and Catholics.

Consider against this backdrop the betrayal of Judge Boardman, a Biden appointee. Not only did she depart well below the sentencing guidelines for the attempted Kavanaugh assassin, she injected her own political views to do so based on Roske claiming transgender status.

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Nicholas Roske announced to the court in September that he identified as a she and preferred the new first name of "Sophie" – a preference the judge indulged. Boardman’s explanation made clear that the sentence she imposed was motivated by her opposition to President Trump’s executive order mandating that biological males be held at male-only federal prisons.

Boardman’s political views should have had no bearing on sentencing. And it is really disturbing that Roske’s mental health concerns and gender dysphoria were given as a literal "Get Out of Jail Free" card. That is not how our justice system should work.

Boardman also downplayed Roske’s conduct, calling him "genuinely remorseful" and noting that he abandoned his plan and surrendered to authorities. Perhaps.

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But it’s also possible that Roske saw that Kavanaugh’s home was protected by law enforcement, and that he was about to be caught after being spotted by deputy U.S. marshals. If he was calling 911 as damage control, it worked.

Roske flew from California to assassinate three sitting Supreme Court justices, and a police search of his suitcase and backpack after his arrest "revealed a firearm; black tactical chest rig and tactical knife; two magazines, each containing 10 rounds of ammunition; 17 additional rounds of ammunition; pepper spray; zip ties; a hammer; screwdrivers; a nail punch; a crowbar; a pistol light; duct tape; hiking boots with padding on the outside of the soles; and lock-pick tools, along with other items."

These facts are inconvenient for those who downplay this shocking crime.

Roske has already served three years in custody, and could be out of prison in as little as three more years when eligible for parole. At that point, we can expect his targets to be not only still living, but still on the court. It is hard to overstate how dangerous that is.

Fortunately, the Justice Department is appealing the sentence. Failing to punish violence with appropriate severity invites more violence – in this case, violence that strikes at the heart of our governing institutions. That is why the Roske sentence is a national disgrace.

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