US police arrested an armed man who made threats against Brett Kavanaugh near the conservative Supreme Court justice’s home, the court said Wednesday.
“At approximately 1:50 AM today, a man was arrested near Justice Kavanaugh’s residence. The man was armed and made threats against Justice Kavanaugh,” court spokeswoman Patricia McCabe said in a statement.
The arrest came as the court prepares to release potentially landmark judgements on politically charged cases on gun rights and abortion.
The Washington Post, citing anonymous officials, said the man was arrested not far from Kavanaugh’s house in Chevy Chase, Maryland, just outside of Washington, carrying a weapon and burglary tools.
He told officers that he wanted to kill the justice, the Post said.
The report said investigators understood from initial evidence that the man, in his 20s, was angry about a leaked draft opinion that indicated the court could be poised to overturn federal protections for abortion rights, which will likely allow many states to ban the procedure outright.
After the draft opinion, written by conservative Justice Samuel Alito, was leaked at the beginning of May, supporters of abortion rights protested at the homes of several justices, including Kavanaugh.
The final opinion of the court is due to be released by the end of June, and it remains unknown if it will in fact overturn the five-decade-old Roe v Wade ruling that said women had a constitutional right to obtain abortions.
The man was also angry about the recent spate of mass shootings, the investigators told the Post.
The court is also expected to rule before the end of the month on a New York firearms case that could see it effectively loosen gun control laws.
Kavanaugh is one of six justices in the court’s conservative wing, against three progressives.
