A man armed with a gun, knife and other weapons was arrested near the home of Maryland judge Brett M. Cavanaugh early Wednesday after he said he was traveling from California to kill a Supreme Court judge, federal officials said.
Nicholas John Rusk, 26, of Simi Valley, California, was charged with attempted murder after two U.S. deputy marshals saw him get out of a taxi outside the house of a judge at Chevy Chase, Maryland, early Wednesday morning wearing black and carrying a suitcase, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland.
Mr Roske saw the two deputies standing next to his parked car and walking down the street, according to a federal affidavit.
Shortly afterwards, the Montgomery County Emergency Communications Center received a call from Mr Roske, who said he had suicidal thoughts and had a firearm in his suitcase, according to the affidavit.
He said he traveled from California to Maryland “to kill a specific judge of the United States Supreme Court,” the swearing-in statement said.
Montgomery County Police Department officers arrived and found Mr. Roske still on the phone with the communications center.
Mr Roske told police “he is upset by the recent expiration of a recent Supreme Court ruling on the right to abortion, as well as the recent shooting at a school in Uwalde, Texas,” the swearing-in statement said. “Roske said he believed that the justice he intended to kill would side with the decisions of the Second Amendment, which would loosen gun control laws.
When authorities searched his suitcase and backpack, they found a “black tactical chest and tactical knife”, a pistol with two magazines and ammunition, pepper spray, zippers, a hammer, a screwdriver, a punch, a lever, a pistol lamp and duct tape, in addition to other items. , according to the affidavit.
If convicted, Mr Roske could face up to 20 years in federal prison. He was due to appear in the U.S. District Court in Maryland on Wednesday afternoon.
The swearing-in statement did not specify which judge Mr Roske had threatened to kill, but Patricia McCabe, a Supreme Court spokeswoman, said the arrested man had been found near Mr Cavanaugh’s house.
The arrest, which took place around 1:50 a.m. Wednesday, The Washington Post reported earlier. In a statement, the FBI said it was aware of the arrest and was working with law enforcement.
The man was arrested without incident near the House of Justice in Chevy Chase, outside Washington, said Sheera Goff, a spokeswoman for the Montgomery County Police Department.
Mr Roske told police he had begun to think “how to give his life a purpose” and decided to kill a Supreme Court judge after finding his address online, the swearing-in statement said.
His plan was to break into the house, kill the judge and then commit suicide, according to the affidavits.
The U.S. Marshals Office said the marshals helped arrest the man.
As news of the arrest broke earlier Wednesday, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said in a statement that he had asked Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in May to increase security outside the judges’ homes.
“I urge the leaders of both parties in Washington to strongly condemn these actions, no doubt,” said Republican Governor Hogan. “It is vital for our constitutional system that judges be able to perform their duties without fear of violence against them and their families.
At a news conference Wednesday to discuss the investigation into the deadly shooting at a school in Uwalde, Texas, last month, Mr Garland said the threat against Judge Cavanaugh was “behavior we will not tolerate”. He added that last month he “accelerated the defense of all judges’ residences 24/7” and that he met with the Marshal of the Supreme Court, the FBI, U.S. marshals and his own prosecutors to “ensure that any available level of protection is possible. “
“Threats of violence and real violence against justice are, of course, at the heart of our democracy,” Mr Garland said. “We will do everything we can to prevent them and hold the people who do them accountable.
There have been protests in front of Judge Cavanaugh’s home and other judges’ homes since a draft Supreme Court opinion was published last month, suggesting judges are ready to overturn the remarkable 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling guaranteeing the right to abortion. .
In a newsletter released Tuesday, the Homeland Security Ministry said that since the expired draft opinion, pro-abortion advocates have “promoted violence” in public forums, including against government, religious and reproductive health personnel and facilities, as well as and those with opposing ideologies. “
Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, called on the House to pass a Supreme Court security bill that would provide police protection for the close families of the nine judges. The Senate passed the bill unanimously in May.
“As long as you do more,” Mr McConnell said in the Senate on Wednesday. “Pass it before the sun sets today.”
Senator Ben Sasse, a Republican from Nebraska, said in a statement that President Biden “must personally and forcibly condemn the violence and threats against Supreme Court justices.”
“Thank God law enforcement stopped this lunatic,” he said.
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