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 conservative judge’s home in the state of Maryland, Patricia McCabe, a court spokeswoman, said in an email.

The California man, whose identity has not been released, is in his 20s and was armed with a gun and a knife, according to a law enforcement official.

He arrived in a taxi early in the morning and told law enforcement officers he wanted to kill Kavanaugh, the official said.

In May, a leaked document indicated a majority of US Supreme Court justices planned to support overturning the historic Roe v Wade decision, that gives women a constitutional right to an abortion.

The Washington Post reported that the man told police he was upset by the leaked draft opinion.

The draft opinion, authored by conservative Justice Samuel Alito and published by the Politico, would uphold a Mississippi law banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy and overturn the Roe decision.

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The Supreme Court building has been surrounded by high black fencing since the leak of that decision, which court officials said was authentic but a preliminary draft that did not necessarily represent the final decision.

The leak of the document triggered protests in Washington and other cities by abortion rights supporters.

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Protests have also taken place at the homes of other justices, all of whom have been provided round-the-clock security at their homes over concerns about violence.

Mr Kavanaugh was appointed by Donald Trump and has served on the court since 2018.

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