Man accused of plotting to kill Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh pleads not guilty

GREEN BELT, Md. (WJLA) — The man accused of flying from California to D.C. to assassinate U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh pleaded not guilty in court Wednesday.

Nicholas Roske, 26, of Simi Valley, California, is charged with a single federal count that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Roske appeared in the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt Wednesday wearing a burgundy-color jail uniform. At times, he locked his hands behind his neck and kept his head hung low.

Roske has chosen to remain in custody while awaiting a jury trial, which is currently scheduled to begin on Aug. 23. He has the right, however, to request a detention hearing should he change his mind before then.

The Office of the Federal Public Defender is representing Roske and had two lawyers in court on Roske's behalf Wednesday. An assistant U.S. attorney was joined by an FBI agent on behalf of the prosecution.

Roske told the court the jail is providing him with his required medication. He did not specify what medicine he is currently taking.

7News asked a woman seen speaking with Roske's public defenders if she is related to the accused attempted killer. The woman declined to comment.

The high-stakes case comes amid repeated protests outside the home of conservative Supreme Court justices, including Kavanaugh who lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

"I just wish it was done someplace else. That would be preferable," said Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D) in response to a question from 7News. "If everybody's going to protest everybody who does something at their houses, we're going to have a very hard time maintaining civil society."

Montgomery County Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Earl Stoddard explained what protestors have been doing in recent weeks and months is, technically, illegal.

"There is an ordinance in Montgomery County that requires that you can't statically protest in front of someone's house for political reasons. That's been in place since the 90s. But what has generally happened is the protesters are told they have to be moving, they can't stay in one place for an extended period of time. And the directive to the police chief and down to the commanders has been to enforce the law as it's written," Stoddard explained.

According to Stoddard, should protestors decide not to follow the county ordinance, police have been directed to detain them and issue citations.

"For the most part, the protestors involved in some of these have been cooperative," Stoddard added. "Meaning, in times when they do pause or take extended times, and the police say you have to move along, they give them a warning and then they proceed along in all cases."