They locked eyes with the assassin.

Yesterday came news that an alleged assassin sought to murder Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.  Initial details, as always, were murky, but it quickly emerged that he was armed with a gun, knife, and various implements such as duct tape.

This occurs in the context of the protests which still appear to be going on in front of conservative justice's home subsequent to the leak five weeks ago of the draft decision in the  Dobbs case which threatens to return the abortion debate arising from Roe v. Wade back to the state and federal legislatures.  

These protests themselves are a challenging philosophical event.  On the one hand, people should have the power to petition its government and should have the free speech to protest.  On the other, there is a thin line between protest and intentional intimidation.  In addition, given that these protests are not tidily contained, such protests tend to negatively impact neighbors as well; people innocently being punished.

Fortunately, the issue is somewhat moot as there is already a law, 18 U.S.C. § 1507, which "prohibits picketing or parading near a judge’s residence “with the intent of influencing” the judge."  The only challenge has been that the Biden administration appears so far to have been reluctant to enforce the law for political reasons.  

There have been a handful of White House press conferences where the Administration has been questioned about its reluctance to enforce the law and protect the safety and security of justices and their neighbors.  The Administration has appeared to take the stance that some protests are acceptable because it is an important issue.  

As the first news reports of the assassination threat came in, I focused on the practical.  Amidst the protests, how did law enforcement discover this individual?  Three scenarios seem possible.  First was if there were protesters at Kavanaugh's home who noticed the assassin's behavior, were concerned, and alerted authorities.  This seemed, on balance, unlikely.  

The second scenario would have been if neighbor's called in a suspicious individual.  This also seemed unlikely if protests were still active.  

The third scenario would have been if law enforcement had received a tip and passed it along to local law enforcement.

All three scenarios seemed plausible but unlikely.

From White House Responds After Man Allegedly Tried Killing Supreme Court’s Kavanaugh by Zachary Stieber.

Garland did order around-the-clock security for all nine justices’ homes, and two deputy U.S. Marshals were said to have locked eyes with Roske when he arrived outside Kavanaugh’s abode before he walked down the street and called 911 on himself.

A tragedy was averted because the perpetrator called himself in?  Well, . . . good I guess.  It seems as if, as is so often the case, that once again we are dealing with an individual with mental health issues.  It is alarming though that the only action taken by the security detail was to have "locked eyes" with the potential perpetrator.  A tragedy was only averted because the mentally ill potential perpetrator retained sufficient awareness to turn himself in.

It is bad enough when the political milieu prevents the police from protecting citizens.  At least citizens can eventually vote in more responsible politicians.

But when the Administration chooses not to protect members of the federal government based on partisan considerations?  That veers from unethical and immoral into traitorous behavior.  We are a constitutional republic which all public servants are pledged to defend regardless of partisan calculations. 

UPDATE:  It turns out to be even worse than I thought.  The assassin called 911 who then dispatched local law enforcement who took the perpetrator into custody.  US Marshalls were on site and the sum of their contribution to the protection of the Justice was to lock eyes.  The assassin called himself in and local law enforcement drove to the Justice's home and made the arrest.  Shocking.