FBI says man accused of attempting to kill Brett Kavanaugh said he was ‘shooting for 3’ justices

By Holmes Lybrand and Tierney Sneed, CNN

In the weeks before traveling to the Washington, DC area, the man accused of attempting to murder Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh researched how to assassinate individuals and said he would be “shooting for 3” justices, according to a search warrant application from the FBI.

Nicholas Roske, who prosecutors say traveled to Kavanaugh’s home with a pistol, extra ammunition, a tactical knife and other gear, looked up terms like “most effective place to stab someone” and “quietest semi auto rifle,” the application states.

As part of the investigation, FBI agents are requesting search warrants for Google accounts and online chatlogs they believe belong to Roske and included searches and online messages from Roske.

In an online conversation on the messaging app Discord, Roske told an individual in May that he was “gonna stop roe v wade from being overturned” and that he would “remove some people from the supreme court,” according to the FBI.

“Two dead judges ain’t gonna do nothing,” the unnamed user told Roske. “You would die before you killed them all.”

Roske replied: “yeah but I could get at least one, which would change the votes for decades to come, and I am shooting for 3.”

The search history on Roske’s phone, which investigators took from Roske when he was arrested and got a search warrant for the next day, also includes searches for “assassin skills” and equipment, “how to be stealthy” and the Supreme Court’s website listing current members.

According to court documents, Roske told investigators that he was upset over the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade as well as the potential for Kavanaugh to help loosen gun laws in the country. Roske, according to investigators, said he decided to kill Kavanaugh after thinking about giving his life purpose.

In the early hours of June 8, Roske arrived at Kavanaugh’s Maryland home with his weapons and equipment, but after being convinced by his sister through text messages, ultimately called the police on himself, telling them he was thinking of killing himself and Kavanaugh, according to law enforcement.

Roske has pleaded not guilty to the charge of attempting to assassinate a US justice.

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