Man charged in Kavanaugh assassination attempt pleads guilty

Driving the news: Nicholas John Roske admitted to one count of attempting to assassinate a justice of the United States without reaching a plea agreement with federal prosecutors.

• He could face life in prison, according to sentencing guidelines.
• Roske previously pleaded not guilty to federal charges of attempting to murder Kavanaugh.

Catch up quick: Roske traveled from California to Kavanaugh's Montgomery County, Maryland, residence in June 2022, where he was spotted by United States Deputy Marshals guarding the justice's house, prosecutors alleged in court filings.

• He called in to the Montgomery County Emergency Communications Center saying he was having suicidal and homicidal thoughts, had a firearm and had come to kill the justice.

Once he was in custody, his attorneys wrote in a court filing last week, Roske told law enforcement he traveled to Maryland with the intent to kill Kavanaugh and then himself.

• He told detectives he was upset about the court's leaked Roe v. Wade draft decision and the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

• In messages he allegedly sent before traveling to Maryland, according to court documents, Roske researched weapons and assassinations and lamented the then-potential overturning of Roe v. Wade.
• In a Discord conversation, Roske claimed he was going to "remove some people" from the Supreme Court to stop it from overturning Roe v. Wade, according to an FBI affidavit.

What's next: U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman scheduled a sentencing hearing for Oct. 3.

Go deeper: Man charged for threatening to torture and kill 6 Supreme Court justices