Kavanaugh Plotter Sentenced to 97 Months, DOJ Will Appeal

U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman sentenced Sophie Roske (charged as Nicholas Roske) to 97 months in prison followed by lifetime supervised release for the 2022 attempted assassination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The term is far below the 30-year-plus sentence prosecutors sought and below federal guideline recommendations. Boardman credited Roske’s abandonment of the plot, her self-reporting to 911, lack of prior criminal history and expressions of remorse in imposing a lesser sentence, while prosecutors had urged a terrorism enhancement and said Roske traveled from California armed with a pistol, knives, zip ties and other burglary tools after researching justices following the leaked Dobbs draft and had considered harming other justices. The judge noted Roske’s history of mental-health issues and that a Trump-era policy would likely place transgender inmates in facilities corresponding to sex at birth, possibly limiting access to transition-related care. Conservative commentators and some officials criticized the sentence as unduly lenient, and the Justice Department has indicated it will appeal.