U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh speaks during his ceremonial public swearing-in, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., October 8, 2018.
U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh speaks during his ceremonial public swearing-in, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., October 8, 2018. Reuters / Jonathan Ernst

A California man armed with a handgun who planned to kill Brett Kavanaugh was arrested on Wednesday near the conservative U.S. Supreme Court justice's Maryland home, voicing distress about the expected reversal of a landmark decision legalizing abortion nationwide, authorities said.

The man, identified as 26-year-old Nicholas Roske of Simi Valley, was carrying a handgun he had purchased for the purpose of killing Kavanaugh as well as ammunition, a crow bar, pepper spray and other items, according to an affidavit signed by an FBI agent.

Kavanaugh's home in the Washington suburb of Chevy Chase has been the site of some protests by abortion-rights advocates since the May 2 publication of a leaked draft opinion indicating the court was poised to overturn its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

Roske was also upset about last month's mass shooting at a school in Uvalde, Texas, the affidavit said, and was concerned Kavanaugh will vote against gun regulations in another major upcoming ruling in a firearms rights case. Roske said he came up with the plan after "thinking about how to give his life a purpose," according to the affidavit.

A criminal complaint filed in federal court in Maryland said Roske was facing a charge of attempting to kidnap or murder a U.S. judge. Roske was scheduled to make an initial court appearance later on Wednesday.

"Threats of violence and actual violence against the justices, of course, strike at the heart of our democracy," U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland told reporters when asked about the arrest.

Roske was taken into custody near the justice's home and transported to a police station in Maryland's Montgomery County, with the case subsequently transferred to the FBI, local police said.

"At approximately 1:50 a.m today, a man was arrested near Justice Kavanaugh's residence. The man was armed and made threats against Justice Kavanaugh," court spokesperson Patricia McCabe added.

The affidavit said that Roske himself called police after he saw U.S. marshals outside Kavanaugh's house. Roske told the dispatcher he was suicidal and intended to kill Kavanaugh, according to the affidavit. Montgomery County police took him into custody without incident, the affidavit said.

Abortion-rights supporters have held protests outside Kavanaugh's home and those of at least two other justices, while also rallying outside the courthouse since the publication of the leaked draft.

Kavanaugh, appointed by former President Donald Trump, has served on the court since 2018.

The U.S. Justice Department said on May 11 that it was increasing security for Supreme Court justices following the leaked draft opinion. Garland directed the U.S. Marshals Service to provide additional support to the court's existing police force, the department said.

Abortion-rights supporters have held demonstrations in Washington and other cities since the draft was leaked, incensed that a right recognized for half a century was poised to be erased by the court's increasingly assertive conservative justices.

The court building is now surrounded by high black fencing. A protester on Monday chained himself by the neck to that perimeter fence.

The draft opinion, authored by conservative Justice Samuel Alito and published by the Politico news outlet, would uphold a Mississippi law banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy and overturn the Roe decision that recognized a woman's constitutional right to obtain an abortion.