A man was detained by police early Wednesday morning near Brett M. Kavanaugh’s Maryland home after making threats against the Supreme Court justice, according to federal and local officials.
The man, described as being from California and in his mid-20s, was taken into custody by police after telling officers he wanted to kill the justice, according to people familiar with the investigation. He apparently did not make it onto Kavanaugh’s property in Montgomery County but was stopped on a nearby street and was found to be carrying at least one weapon and burglary tools, these people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
Two people familiar with the investigation said the initial evidence indicates that the man was angry about the leaked draft of an opinion by the Supreme Court signaling that the court is preparing to overturn Roe. v. Wade, the 49-year-old decision that guaranteed the constitutional right to have an abortion. He was also angry over a recent spate of mass shootings, these people said.
According to the WP, Police were apparently notified that the person might pose a threat to the justice, but it was not immediately clear who provided the initial tip, these people said. The man was arrested at about 1:50 a.m. today, Supreme Court spokeswoman Patricia McCabe said in a statement confirming the arrest.
Montgomery County police responded to a call for service early Wednesday morning in the area of Kavanaugh’s Chevy Chase home, where officers took a man into custody and transported him to a local police station, said Shiera Goff, a spokeswoman for the department.
This man was in the area sometime between 1:14 and 1:45 a.m. Wednesday and authorities believe this person “came in from out of state with the intent to kill Kavanaugh,” Goff said. She declined to provide additional details on the man taken into custody.
