A man who admitted he tried to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2022 now goes by a female name, court papers show.
Nicholas Roske, who is waiting to find out his punishment next month, is now called Sophie Roske. This is the first time the name “Sophie” and the title “Ms.” have been used for Roske in court documents.
The court filing was a normal step before Roske’s sentencing, which is scheduled for October 3. But the document called Roske “Sophia,” and a note said that Nicholas is still Roske’s legal first name.
The note said, “To respect Ms. Roske, the rest of this document and any arguments in court will call her Sophie and use female pronouns.”
It’s not clear if Roske is getting any treatments to change genders.
Roske went to Kavanaugh’s house on June 8, 2022, with a gun, bullets, a knife, a crowbar, and tactical gear. He called 9-1-1 and turned himself in after his sister called him and he saw U.S. Marshals outside the justice’s house.
This happened about two weeks before the Supreme Court made its big decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. This decision was expected and had caused protesters to gather at the Supreme Court and outside the homes of conservative justices for weeks.
The Department of Justice wants Roske to be sentenced to 30 years in prison. Prosecutors said in a court document that Roske has had “mental health issues” for about ten years, including thoughts of hurting his sister. He has been getting help for these issues, but the details were not included in the document.
Prosecutors wrote, “While the defendant has mental health issues, these issues don’t change the fact that he committed a serious crime. He researched and targeted members of the courts and wanted to change the Supreme Court for political reasons.”
The Bureau of Prisons said they couldn’t share details about any gender-related treatments Roske might be getting, citing privacy and safety concerns.
