A grand jury formally indicted Nicholas John Roske on Wednesday, charging him with the attempted assassination of a Supreme Court justice.
The Simi Valley, California, man is in federal custody and is facing a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.
According to the indictment, the feds obtained a Glock 17 firearm, two Glock magazines with 10 rounds of 9 mm ammunition each, 17 rounds of 9 mm ammunition in a plastic bag, black speed loader, streetlight TLR4 light and laser, black gloves, a belly band holder, pepper spray and a knife.
No court appearance has been scheduled yet.
Mr. Roske, 26, was arrested last week outside the Maryland home of Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh after he confessed to law enforcement he planned to kill the justice and himself, according to federal court documents.
He arrived by taxi near the residence but did not breach Justice Kavanaugh’s home. Agents of the U.S. Marshals Service confronted him upon arrival.
Mr. Roske phoned the police and said he was suicidal and planned to kill a Supreme Court justice, according to the criminal complaint.
He told an agent interviewing him that he wanted to give his life a purpose and planned to kill the justice because he thought he would rule in favor of gun rights following the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that killed elementary students, according to the charging documents.
Mr. Roske also was targeting Justice Kavanaugh because he was angry that the court was about to overturn abortion rights, according to the charging documents.
The homes of some of the high court’s conservative justices have been targeted for protests since a leaked draft opinion indicating they would overturn national abortion rights was published last month.
In the draft opinion published by Politico, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. said abortion laws should return to the state legislatures, thus overturning 1973’s landmark Roe v. Wade decision.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said the draft opinion was authentic but noted that it did not represent a final ruling. He ordered the court’s marshal to investigate who leaked the document.
The abortion ruling is expected to be issued by the end of June.
• Stephen Dinan contributed to this report.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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