Man Arrested for Attempting to Murder Justice Kavanaugh - Should the House Pass the Bipartisan Supreme Court Security Bill?

What’s the story?

• An armed man was arrested near the family home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in the early hours of Wednesday morning, which thwarted an apparent attempt to assassinate the justice as the Supreme Court prepares to issue high-profile decisions regarding abortion and gun rights. 
• The alleged murder plot comes as a bipartisan bill to bolster that passed the Senate unanimously a month ago has been stalled in the House as Democrats consider an alternative bill.

What happened?

• According to an affidavit filed in the federal district of Maryland recommending the charge of attempted murder of a Supreme Court justice, the suspect exited a taxicab in front of Kavanaugh’s home shortly after 1 a.m. After seeing a pair of Deputy U.S. Marshals standing next to their parked car, he walked down the street and called Montgomery County Emergency Communications Center.
• The man identified himself as Nicholas Roske and told the call taker that he was armed, suicidal, and that he had traveled to the area from California to kill the Supreme Court justice. The Montgomery County Police Dept. responded and encountered the man while he was still on the phone and he was taken into custody without incident. A search of his suitcase and backpack revealed a handgun with two magazines and ammunition, a tactical knife, a tactical chest rig, pepper spray, zip ties, duct tape, and tools used to break into homes.
• After Roske agreed to speak to FBI agents and signed a waiver of his rights, he told the detective he was upset about the leaked draft Supreme Court opinion related to abortion as well as the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The filing said Roske stated that he believed Kavanaugh would side with Second Amendment decisions that would loosen gun control laws challenged in a case that will soon be decided. He said he wanted to give his life purpose by killing the justice, so he bought a gun, found his address on the Internet, and traveled to the area.

Bipartisan Supreme Court Security Bill Stalled in House

• In the wake of the leaked draft of the Supreme Court opinion in the Mississippi abortion case, pro-abortion rights protesters began demonstrations outside the homes of several conservative Supreme Court justices.
• The protests at justices’ homes prompted Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) to request that Attorney General Merrick Garland help coordinate federal, state, and local law enforcement efforts around the justices’ homes.
• It’s a violation of federal law to picket or parade in front of a courthouse or a judge’s home “with the intent of interfering with, obstructing, or impeding the administration of justice, or with the intent of influencing any judge.” Violations are punishable with fines, up to one year in prison, or both.
• In response to threats to the safety of the Supreme Court justices, the Senate unanimously passed the Supreme Court Police Parity Act of 2022 on May 9th. The one-page bill introduced by Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Chris Coons (D-DE) clarifies that the Supreme Court Police have the authority to also protect the immediate family members of justices and officers of the Supreme Court if the Court’s Marshal determines it’s necessary.
• Since its passage in the Senate, the bill has languished in the House for more than a month. Democrats have proposed a bill that would also provide protection for Supreme Court clerks and other staffers as well as their families if deemed necessary. If the House were to take up and pass that bill, known as the Supreme Court Families Security Act of 2022, it would have to pass the Senate before it could become law.
• Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) urged the House to pass the Senate’s version of the bill in the wake of the arrest in remarks on the floor:

“House Democrats need to stop their multi-week blockade against the Supreme Court security bill and pass it before the sun sets today.”

• House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said he plans to ask unanimous consent to pass the bill by voice vote, although it’s unclear if Democrats will object. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said there were “very positive discussions” on Wednesday about the way forward on the issue.
• Efforts to intimidate Supreme Court justices have become more common in recent years. In 2020, then-Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) stood on the steps of the Supreme Court while oral arguments for an abortion case were ongoing inside and said in a speech to protesters:

“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.”

• Chief Justice John Roberts responded in a rare public statement, “Justices know that criticism comes with the territory, but threatening statements of this sort from the highest levels of government are not only inappropriate, they are dangerous.” Schumer later denied threatening the Supreme Court justices but acknowledged, “I shouldn’t have used the words I did.” 
• Following Wednesday’s arrest, a spokesman for Schumer told National Review, “He is thankful law enforcement arrested this person today. He’s been clear that he supports peaceful protests.”
• Attorney General Merrick Garland said of the arrest, “Threats of violence and actual violence against the justices of course strike at the heart of our democracy and we will do everything to prevent them and hold the people who do them accountable.”

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: iStock.com / Douglas Rissing)