Armed man arrested for attempted murder of Justice Brett Kavanaugh has been identified

The armed California man arrested near the Maryland home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh Wednesday morning has been identified as Nicholas John Roske, law enforcement sources tell Fox News. 

Roske of Simi Valley, California, was carrying a gun, knife and pepper spray when arrested and had made violent threats against Kavanaugh, sources said. Roske was picked up on a nearby street after calling police on 911 to report himself. 

A criminal complaint obtained by Fox News shows that Roske is being charged with attempting to murder a United States Supreme Court Justice. He is scheduled to have a first appearance in federal court in Maryland Wednesday afternoon.

“Roske stated that he began thinking about how to give his life a purpose and decided that he would kill the Supreme Court Justice [Kavanaugh] after finding the Justice’s Montgomery County address on the Internet,” FBI Special Agent Ian Montijo wrote in an affidavit.

“Roske further indicated that he had purchased [a] Glock pistol and other items for the purpose of breaking into the Justice’s residence and killing the Justice as well as himself,” the agent wrote.

Roske arrived in a taxi Wednesday morning at about 1:05 a.m. in front of Kavanaugh’s home in Chevy Chase, a suburb of Washington, D.C. He was spotted by two deputy U.S. marshals standing outside Kavanaugh’s residence, who noted he was dressed in black clothing and carrying a suitcase and backpack, the affidavit said. He then walked down the street after seeing the marshals, that affidavit says.

Roske then called 911 and told a dispatcher his name, and that he was having suicidal thoughts and that he also had a gun in his suitcase, the affidavit said.

“He also told the call taker he came from California to kill a specific United States Supreme Court Justice,” the FBI agent wrote in his affidavit.

Roske was apprehended, while still on the telephone with the 911 operator, by Montgomery County police sent to the scene. He was taken into custody without incident. He faces a possible maximum prison sentence of 20 years if convicted.