The man who attempted to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh now identifies as a transgender woman and has a documented history of severe mental illness and suicidal thoughts, according to court documents obtained by The Daily Wire.
The Justice Department has recommended a 30-year prison sentence for 29-year-old Nicholas Roske, who pleaded guilty in April 2025 to attempting to kill a U.S. Supreme Court justice. Roske was arrested in 2022 outside Kavanaugh’s Maryland home carrying a bag containing weapons and burglary tools.
New filings from Roske’s defense attorneys state that Roske now goes by “Sophie Roske” and will be referred to with female pronouns. A footnote in the filing explains that the defense will not use Roske’s legal name “out of respect” for the defendant, the outlet reported.
“The case is captioned as United States v. Nicholas John Roske,” lawyers for Roske state. “That name remains Ms. Roske’s legal name, and she has not asked to recaption the case. Out of respect for Ms. Roske, the balance of this pleading and counsel’s in-court argument will refer to her as Sophie and use female pronouns.”
A source familiar with the case told The Daily Wire that Roske had been using female identities online before the assassination attempt and now formally goes by the female name listed in the defense filings.
Attorney General Pam Bondi told the outlet that the attack is viewed as “political violence” and referred to Roske as a “disturbed individual.”
“This attempt against the life of a Supreme Court Justice was an attack on the entire judicial system that cannot go unpunished,” she said, per the report. “This Department of Justice condemns political violence and our prosecutors will ensure that this disturbed individual faces severe consequences for his deranged actions.”
Justice Department attorneys argue in court documents that the 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.”
DOJ attorneys also 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.”
Court filings revealing that Nicholas Roske now uses a female name and pronouns come amid heightened scrutiny of recent violence involving transgender-identifying suspects, The Daily Wire noted.
Just last week, Tyler Robinson, 22, who lived with a transgender boyfriend, was charged with murdering Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk during a campus event in Utah. Weeks earlier, 23-year-old Robin Westman, who also identified as transgender, was accused of opening fire on Catholic school children in Minneapolis.
Authorities said Robinson shared a home with 22-year-old Lance Twiggs, a transgender-identifying male who had been estranged from his family over alleged substance abuse and excessive gaming. Investigators confirmed the two were in a romantic relationship.
The recent killings have sparked calls for investigations into transgender-linked violence and extremism. Earlier this month, Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to President Donald Trump and senior director for counterterrorism, told The Daily Wire that the administration’s draft U.S. Counterterrorism Plan specifically addresses transgender violence.
Reports earlier this month said the Justice Department was weighing whether to block transgender-identifying individuals from purchasing firearms as part of broader efforts to prevent people with mental health issues from committing acts of violence, particularly in schools.
The discussions focused on gender dysphoria, defined as the distress experienced when a person believes their biological sex does not align with their gender identity.
