Judge Slashes Term For Kavanaugh Plotter

A judge just gave a would-be Supreme Court assassin eight years instead of decades, and now Trump’s Justice Department is fighting to keep her behind bars far longer.

Story Snapshot

Federal prosecutors asked for 30 years to life for the attempted assassination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, but the judge gave just 97 months.
Attorney General Pam Bondi called the sentence “woefully insufficient” and announced the Department of Justice will appeal.
Judge Deborah Boardman, a Biden appointee, credited Sophie Roske for calling 911 and surrendering, treating that as a major reason for leniency.
The case raises hard questions about whether our system takes threats against conservative justices as seriously as it should.

What Roske Did And Why Prosecutors Wanted Decades, Not Years

Federal prosecutors say Sophie Roske, a transgender woman from California, traveled across the country in 2022 to the Maryland home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh with a Glock 17 handgun, ammunition, and tools to break in, restrain him, and kill him.^[1] The plot came in the tense weeks after the draft opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade leaked, when protests and threats against conservative justices surged.^[3] Roske later pleaded guilty to attempted murder of a Justice of the United States Supreme Court.^[3] The Department of Justice’s own filing said the federal sentencing guidelines, based on the planning, weapons, and intent to kill, supported a range of roughly 30 years to life.^[6] Prosecutors argued that targeting one or more Supreme Court justices is an attack on the whole constitutional system and demanded at least three decades behind bars.^[6]

In a detailed sentencing memo, the Department of Justice described “horrific facts,” including evidence that Roske had looked up mass shootings and expressed intent to change the Court’s direction for decades by killing multiple conservative justices.^[6] The official press release later stressed that this was not a spur-of-the-moment threat but a prepared assassination attempt aimed at a sitting justice in his home at night, where his family was present.^[5] For many conservatives, that echoes political violence used to intimidate judges into changing rulings on life, religious liberty, and the Second Amendment. Prosecutors argued that if such conduct gets only a single-digit sentence, future extremists may see that as a green light, not a warning.^[5]

Why A Biden-Appointed Judge Cut The Sentence To Just Over Eight Years

United States District Judge Deborah Boardman, appointed by President Biden, rejected the 30-year request and handed down a 97‑month sentence with lifetime supervised release instead.^[3] Reports say the defense had asked for eight years, so the judge went only one month above what Roske’s lawyers wanted.^[3] During the hearing, Boardman called Roske’s actions “reprehensible” and an act of terrorism, but she said the long guideline range was unreasonable in light of mitigating factors.^[7] The biggest factor she highlighted was that Roske called 911, confessed, and surrendered without firing a shot or entering Kavanaugh’s home.^[1]

Boardman also noted Roske’s mental health struggles and background and said these weighed in favor of a much shorter prison term.^[2] Media outlets report that she even mentioned Roske’s transgender status and the fact that Roske will be held in an all‑male prison as something she “took into account” when deciding the sentence.^[7] A Boston University criminal law professor told one outlet that it is “not unusual” for judges to depart sharply below guideline ranges when they find strong mitigation.^[7] Supporters of the sentence say the judge acted within her discretion and that the crime, while grave, was never completed because Roske turned back on her own and asked police for help.^[2]

Trump’s DOJ Pushes Back, As Conservatives See A Dangerous Double Standard

Attorney General Pam Bondi did not mince words after the ruling, calling the eight‑year term “woefully insufficient” and promising that the Department of Justice would appeal the sentence to the federal appeals court.^[2] A Justice Department press release made clear that prosecutors had formally urged the court to follow guidelines pointing to 30 years to life, arguing that the range “accurately reflects the severity of the crime.”^[6] Legal analysts say the appeal will likely claim that cutting the term down to 97 months was an unreasonable departure that fails to protect public officials and the courts.^[4]

WaPo: DOJ Will Appeal 'Her' Sentence to Keep Would-Be Assassin 'Sophie' Roske Behind Bars https://t.co/HLjkq95T5z

— Carol RN *Miss Rush & the Gipper* 👩‍⚕️🇺🇸 🇮🇱🦈 (@pasqueflower19) June 23, 2026

Conservatives in and out of Congress are already blasting what they see as a pattern: long sentences and aggressive tactics when the accused are Trump supporters or pro‑life activists, but mercy and excuses when the target is a conservative justice and the defendant fits favored media narratives.^[7] Critics point to coverage that dwells on Roske’s troubled past and identity while downplaying that she crossed the country with a loaded gun and tools, allegedly intending to kill multiple justices to change the Court.^[1] They argue that if our system shrugs at an attempted assassination of a Supreme Court justice, it will invite more intimidation of judges, more attacks on the rule of law, and more erosion of the constitutional balance that protects every American family. The Trump administration’s decision to appeal signals that, at least at the Justice Department, this kind of threat will not be treated as just another headline that quickly fades away.