Armed man arrested by Kavanaugh home

WASHINGTON >> A man armed with a pistol, a knife and other weapons was arrested near the Maryland home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh early Wednesday after he said he traveled from California to kill the Supreme Court justice, federal officials said.

Nicholas John Roske, 26, of Simi Valley, California, was charged with attempted murder after two

U.S. deputy marshals saw him step out of taxi in front of the justice's house in Chevy Chase, Maryland, early Wednesday, dressed in black and carrying a suitcase, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Maryland.

Roske saw the two deputies, who were standing next to their parked car, and walked down the street, according to a federal affidavit.

Shortly thereafter, the Montgomery County Emergency Communications Center received a call from Roske, who said he was having suicidal thoughts and had a firearm in his suitcase, according to the affidavit.

He said he had traveled from California to Maryland “to kill a specific United States Supreme Court Justice,” the affidavit said.

Officers from the Montgomery County Police Department arrived and found Roske still on the phone with the communications center.

Roske told police “that he was upset about the leak of a recent Supreme Court draft decision regarding the right to abortion as well as the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas,” the affidavit stated. “Roske indicated that he believed the justice that he intended to kill would side with Second Amendment decisions that would loosen gun control laws.”