WASHINGTON—The parents and family of Nicholas Roske are arguing that their son, the man who attempted to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, should be treated leniently and given an opportunity to “thrive” as a transgender woman, court documents show.
In startling letters dated September 19, Roske’s family describes the 29-year-old attempted assassin as “Sophie,” use female pronouns to describe Roske, and pushes for leniency for their family member, who pleaded guilty to the attempt to kill a United States Supreme Court Justice in April 2025, three years after authorities arrested him in Kavanaugh’s neighborhood, carrying a bag full of weapons and burglary tools.
The family pleaded with Judge Deborah Boardman, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, that “Sophie” needs therapy, relaxation, and the outdoors in order for him to ultimately “thrive.” His sister specifically expresses fears about him being placed in a male prison “with limited access to gender affirming care.”
The Daily Wire first reported last month that Roske’s legal team told the court he identifies as transgender and would be referred to as “Sophie.” It now appears, based on the family letters, that this is potentially part of its legal strategy.
“Placing Sophie in long term incarceration would stunt her ability to thrive and severely impact her overall life trajectory,” writes Olivia Roske, the gay sister of the attempted assassin. “Sophie needs a balanced life and appropriate support from loving people, not incarceration. Luckily, she has many loved ones eager to show her support, and we need her home in order to fully provide that to her.”
“Sophie has so much to offer the [world],” Roske’s sister insists, “and I ask that you allow her to live that out fully.”
Justice Department attorneys are recommending that Roske be given 30 years in prison. They ask that the court’s sentence “must send the unequivocal, clear, and strong message that attempted violence and threats of violence against members of the judiciary — as well as other public and federal officials — cannot and will not be tolerated, and will be justly and severely condemned.”
READ MORE: Attempted Kavanaugh Assassin Identifies As Transgender Woman, Legal Filings Show
They specifically state that the court’s sentence must be significant enough to not only “reflect the harm sought to be inflicted on the judiciary,” but also to send a message that the “consequences for these acts — no fewer than 30 years to life in prison — are not worth the perceived ideological ends.”
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Roske’s family, on the other hand, believes he would do better at home with them. Their repeated references to Roske’s transgender identity indicate that they believe Boardman may be swayed towards a lighter sentence out of compassion for Roske’s gender identity. Over and over, Roske’s father, mother, sister, grandparents, uncle, and friends harken back to his mental health difficulties and suggest that prison life is too hard for Roske to endure as a trans-identifying individual.
In 2023, Boardman notably denied the request of a group of Maryland parents who had asked that Montgomery County Public Schools allow them to opt their kids out of lessons that included LGBTQ books (the Supreme Court ruled this summer that the school system had violated the parents’ rights).
(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“Sophie has had to face many challenges but remains positive, hopeful,” writes Roske’s mother, in a letter promising over and over to help and affirm her son in his transgender identity should he be allowed out of prison. “I have seen evidence of this during her incarceration. She is persevering. Over the past three years she has matured, reflecting on what happened and how to never have it happen again.”
Roske’s father argues that during the COVID-19 pandemic, Roske grew fearful of getting the virus or giving it to others, as well as “anxious about what COVID meant for the future,” since he had been accepted to get his master’s and possibly a doctorate in philosophy on the East Coast. Roske then moved to Seattle, where he lived for several months without a job before moving home and beginning to substitute teach. Shortly thereafter, when the school year ended, Roske then flew from California to Maryland to attempt to assassinate Kavanaugh.
“She does better with structure,” wrote Roske’s father. “Clear rules and a schedule will be given when she comes back to live with us. I think she would benefit from some assistance with developing organization and life skills. We will also work on teaching her how to do her own planning and organizing.”
Roske’s family describes him as smart and curious from a young age, an individual who excelled academically and loved philosophical conversations. Roske was an Eagle Scout, they shared, and was very active in the Boy Scouts. He was also homeschooled, his uncle wrote, but went to public school for high school, “isolating her from many of the friend groups that had already been formed,” and causing him to struggle to make friends, “leaving her marginalized.”
Roske’s uncle writes that his nephew deeply struggled with mental health: “She exhibited many of the signs of a troubled young adult. She had difficulties finding meaningful purpose, both personally and professionally, spending many hours isolated at home on the computer, withdrawn from life’s daily tasks.”
“Sophie is too smart for her own good,” writes his grandmother. “Frustration follows her around … I think she was trying to find herself and couldn’t find a place to fit in. Hopefully she is finding her way. She has a [lot] to offer.”
While Roske’s mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, and uncle all refer to him as “Sophie,” his cousin Daniel, his other uncle, Timothy, and his aunt Tjjohn refer to him as “Nicholas/Sophie,” and use the pronoun “they” to refer to his cousin, rather than “she” — perhaps an indication that they might not be as bought into Roske’s transgender identification as the rest of the family. Roske’s cousin insists that what Roske did “was a mistake” and asks that the court “look at the contents of this and the other letters written on Nicholas/Sophie’s behalf and determine a fair sentencing.”
Roske’s aunt Tjjohn specifically notes: “Nicholas/Sophie has always had a sense of what they believe to be right and wrong. The incident of the Uvalde [school] shooting and the overturning of Roe v. Wade upset them. Yes, they had a plan and intended to enact that plan. However, at some point, their conscience kicked in and had the wherewithal to call their sister.”
September DOJ filings show that Roske “meticulously researched, planned, and attempted to assassinate at least one — but had a stated target of three — sitting judges of the United States Supreme Court” with the “explicit objective” of “single-handedly” altering “the Constitutional order for ideological ends.” He conducted internet searches for the homes of the four Justices, purchased a Glock 17 pistol, ammunition, a rail-mounted tactical light with a laser sight, tactical gloves, non-slip grip socks, cable ties, pepper spray, a lock-pick set, a screwdriver, and a wrecking bar.
“My mental health is too poor for me to fear death,” he wrote on Discord on March 18, 2022, to another user, according to the DOJ filing. “But prison sounds worse. To be monitored to the point where you can’t even kill yourself. So if I did kill someone I would definitely try to get away with it.”
Court filings show that Roske described himself as “actively suicidal” and said he wanted to “do something positive before I die” by taking out Kavanaugh before the justice could vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. He found Kavanaugh’s neighborhood online after he saw an article with a “picture of the family’s house,” including the house number, because far-left activists had posted the addresses of the justices online in an attempt to intimidate them into preserving Roe.
In May 2022, POLITICO published a leaked draft Supreme Court opinion showing that the court was poised to overturn Roe, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision establishing a constitutional right to an abortion. That leak prompted Roske’s journey from California to Maryland.
“When I saw the leaked draft, it made me upset and then it made me want to — I don’t know,” he told authorities. “I was under the delusion that I could make the world a better place by killing him.”
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