Brett Kavanaugh: Armed man who wanted to kill US Supreme Court justice arrested near his house in Maryland | US News

An armed man who made threats against Brett Kavanaugh, one of the judges on the US Supreme Court, has been arrested near his house.

The man was arrested at about 1.50am near the judge’s home in the state of Maryland, Patricia McCabe, a court spokeswoman, said in an email.

The man, who is in his 20s and from California, was armed with a gun and a knife, according to a law enforcement official.

The man, whose identity has not been released, arrived in a taxi early in the morning and told law enforcement officers he wanted to kill Kavanaugh, the official said.

The official was not authorised to publicly discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The Washington Post reported that the man told police he was upset by a leaked draft opinion suggesting the court is about to overrule Roe v Wade, the court’s landmark abortion case.

The justices have been provided round-the-clock security at their homes over concerns about violence after the court’s ultimate decision on whether to overrule the case.

Protests have taken place at Mr Kavanaugh’s house in a Maryland suburb and at the homes of other justices.