The potential for Roe v. Wade’s demise has exposed the lengths to which some extremists will go to preserve abortion and defy the rule of law. The Washington Post reported that a man with a weapon was arrested by police near the home of a Supreme Court justice early Wednesday morning. According to the FBI’s affidavit, US Marshalls spotted Nicholas John Roske in front of Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s Maryland residence. In a call to 9-11, Roske told the emergency operator he traveled from California with intent to kill Kavanaugh, later admitting he was upset over the Supreme Court draft decision. Law enforcement discovered a pistol, magazines, ammunition, and various other equipment in Roske’s backpack.
Days after the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion, then White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki condemned “violence, threats, and intimidation,” yet iterated the President’s continued encouragement of “peaceful” protests outside the homes of Supreme Court justices. Liberal members of the press defended gatherings outside of judges’ homes as “nonviolent,” with one cultural commentator dismissing threats and stating emphatically that Brett Kavanaugh “is not in danger.”
The stepped-up attacks on pregnancy resource centers suggest that reactions to the leaked SCOTUS decision do not fall solely in the realm of constitutionally protected “peaceful protests,” however. In the span of three days, four pregnancy resource centers were attacked in different cities around the country just this week.
Senate Minority Leader McConnell today reprimanded House members for their “blockade” of an “uncontroversial bill” that would provide enhanced security to members of the Supreme Court and their families. The Supreme Court Police Parity Act of 2022 unanimously passed the Senate last month, yet remains stalled in the House. The legislation grants protection to the Supreme Court equal to that of the legislative and executive branches. McConnell stated, “This is exactly the kind of event that many feared that the terrible breach of the Court’s rules and norms could fuel. This is exactly the kind of event that many worried the unhinged, reckless, apocalyptic rhetoric from prominent figures toward the Court, going back many months, and especially in recent weeks, could make more likely.”The White House meanwhile told reporters that it condemns the actions of the would-be assassin in the “strongest terms.”
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