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Another Supreme Court Justice is under fire for photos showing a US flag at his home as a sign of support for Donald Trump.
The Supreme Court is the subject of another controversy – this time courtesy of conservative Justice Samuel Alito. On Thursday (May 16), a published photograph of his home in Alexandria, Virginia showed an American flag that flew upside down – a universal signal of distress co-opted by supporters of former President Donald Trump and his “Stop The Steal” false claims. That same flag style was spotted among those who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. The photo showed that the reverse flag flew at Alito’s home on January 17.
The photograph is also significant because, at the time, the Supreme Court was weighing in on a case from Pennsylvania concerning the 2020 presidential election which saw Alito in the losing minority of the decision. “I had no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag,” Justice Alito said in a statement emailed to The New York Times after the report was published. “It was briefly placed by Mrs. Alito in response to a neighbor’s use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs.” The report did say that Alito’s wife, Martha, had been involved in a dispute over a neighbor’s anti-Trump sign on their lawn. “It might be his spouse or someone else living in his home, but he shouldn’t have it in his yard as his message to the world,” said Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia. Alito has been a contentious figure on the court, with his leaking of the ruling overturning the landmark Roe V. Wade decision concerning abortion a nagging issue.
The bombshell report from the Times caused shockwaves among many observers and scholars, who stated that such a move undermines any credibility that Alito has in ruling on upcoming cases involving Trump. Those cases include the Supreme Court determining if Trump has immunity for his actions – which are being argued as incitements to insurrection – concerning what took place on January 6th. It adds to more chaos surrounding the court, as Justice Clarence Thomas has refused to recuse himself despite his wife Ginni Thomas’ direct involvement with efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.