Sophie Roske, the attempted assassin of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh who turned herself in and pleaded guilty earlier this year, was sentenced to 8 years in prison on Friday — far below the sentencing guidelines and what the prosecutors asked for.
The sentence was rendered in part because Roske, who was identified by a male name in the charging documents but whose lawyers explained had undergone a gender transition, turned herself in before going through with the plot.
Nonetheless, Trump-supporting reporters, journalists, and officials were enraged by the decision, with many speculating that it was the gender transition that was behind the light sentence.
Attorney General Pam Bondi immediately challenged the sentencing decision, saying in a statement, “The attempted assassination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was a disgusting attack against our entire judicial system by a profoundly disturbed individual. The Department of Justice will be appealing the woefully insufficient sentence imposed by the district court, which does not reflect the horrific facts of this case.”
"Attempting to assassinate Supeeme (sic) Court Justices is now a newly endorsed path toward gender affirmation, how beautiful," wrote Spectator editor Ben Domenech.
"A court re-enforcing this delusional BS and praising this garbage — my mind is blown," wrote former reporter Matthew Hoy.
"Well I'm no expert in criminal sentencing but this entire thread seems completely insane to me," wrote Jeff Blehar of the National Review.
"This is nuts," wrote podcaster Stephen L. Miller.
"This judge just gave Nicholas Roske a shorter sentence for trying to kill Brett Kavanaugh than the guy she sentenced last month for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft," wrote Free Beacon editor Peter J. Hasson.
"This is insane. The judge referred to Nicholas Roske as a woman and admitted in court that him claiming to be transgender got him a better sentence. He tried to murder a Supreme Court justice! Only got 8 years!" wrote Daily Wire editor-in-chief Brent Scher.
"At the end of the day, having a functional society means having standards for what is okay and what is not — and policing violations of those standards," wrote D.C. attorney Jimmy Buffett. "Trying to kill gov't officials to effectuate (or forestall) legal change is not some 'oopsie' you recover from. Jail for life."