Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh poses during a group photo of the Justices at the Supreme Court in Washington, April 23, 2021.
Erin Schaff | Pool | Reuters
A man armed with a handgun, knife, and pepper spray was arrested early Wednesday morning near the Maryland home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, law-enforcement authorities said.
The man told police he was there to kill Kavanaugh, who lives in Chevy Chase, a suburb just outside of Washington, D.C. according to authorities.
The man is not from Maryland. He arrived near Kavanaugh’s home in a taxi. Authorities said he was stopped near the residence, but not at it.
The Supreme Court in a statement 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.”
“He was transported to Montgomery County Police 2nd District,” according to the Supreme Court.
Montgomery County Police Department did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment. A spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service said the agency was looking into the arrest.
Kavanaugh’s home, like those of other conservative Supreme Court justices, was the site of protests last month after the leak of a majority draft opinion that would overturn the constitutional right to abortion. That draft was written by Justice Samuel Alito, another conservative.
The Supreme Court has not yet issue a final decision on a Mississippi abortion law that was the subject of the draft opinion.
Security has been tightened at all nine of the justices’ homes since last month, after the unprecedented leak of the draft.
The Department of Justice in mid-May that the Marshals Service is providing “around-the-clock security” at the homes of all nine justices.
A spokesman for the Marshal Service told CNBC that security measures are still in place at the justices’ homes.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.