WASHINGTON — A man with an armed weapon was taken into custody overnight at the residence of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Law enforcement officials confirmed this.
Officials claim that the man was carrying a pistol, a knife, and pepper spray. He was located near, but not at, the justice’s residence. These officials claim that he claimed he was there in order to kill Kavanaugh when he was detained by police.
The Washington Post first reported the arrest.
In a brief statement, the court confirmed that some details were correct: “An individual was taken into custody near Justice Kavanaugh’s residence at approximately 1:50 AM today.” The man threatened Justice Kavanaugh and was armed. He was taken to Montgomery County Police 2nd District.
Officials claim that the man arrived in taxi from out-of-state.
Kavanaugh resides in suburban Chevy Chase, Maryland. After a draft of Roe v. Wade’s court decision was leaked, protests erupted at Kavanaugh’s home.
Protesters held signs and chanted in front of Kavanaugh’s, Chief Justice John Roberts, and Justice Samuel Alito’s homes. Justice Alito wrote the majority draft opinion that could invalidate the landmark ruling. Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) called for protestors to be detained and brought before the Justice Department. He cited a federal law that prohibits people from intimidating or influencing judges.
Some of Cotton’s Republican coworkers said that that would be a violation of the First Amendment. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), said that peaceful protests are “the American way.” Schumer also said that people can protest in front his New York home “three, four times per week.”
Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said that protests should be peaceful when she was asked by reporters last month whether she was worried about protests outside the homes of judges. Psaki stated that violence, threats and intimidation are not appropriate in political discourse.
Protests sparked security concerns, which led Congress to pass legislation to expand security protections to the immediate family of Supreme Court justices.
