Supreme Courtroom Justice Samuel Alito had an evidence for the pro-Trump image hanging exterior his Virginia residence within the weeks following the Capitol Riot: his spouse put it there.
The New York Occasions first reported that an upside-down American flag was displayed on the conservative justice’s property in January 2021, simply weeks after the Capitol riot.
Inverted flags have been a logo utilized by the “Cease the Steal” motion, in line with the Occasions, which falsely claims President Joe Biden did not legitimately win the 2020 election.
The flag reportedly flew within the Alitos’ yard whereas the court docket was deciding whether or not to listen to instances in regards to the election’s legitimacy. The Supreme Courtroom finally declined to listen to the instances; Alito dissented on the time and wished to take up the instances.
US flag code says the American flag should not be circulate the wrong way up except “besides as a sign of dire misery in situations of utmost hazard to life or property.”
However when requested by the Occasions in regards to the flag, Alito blamed his spouse.
“I had no involvement in any way within the flying of the flag,” Justice Alito advised the Occasions in an electronic mail. “It was briefly positioned by Mrs. Alito in response to a neighbor’s use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard indicators.”
Justice Alito’s spouse, Martha-Ann, had clashed with a neighbor who displayed an anti-Trump signal utilizing an expletive, in line with the Occasions.
The professional-Trump image is ethically questionable as a result of Supreme Courtroom Justices are supposed to take care of neutrality with respect to points that would come earlier than them, in line with specialists cited by the Occasions and the court docket’s personal Code of Conduct.
One other of the Supreme Courtroom’s conservative justices, Clarence Thomas, is going through accusations of unethical conduct himself. A collection of ProPublica investigations revealed Thomas had accepted lavish items and holidays from a rich GOP donor however did not disclose them.
Thomas denied any wrongdoing, and the donor mentioned Thomas was merely a pal.
The Supreme Courtroom’s public data workplace didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from Enterprise Insider.
The court docket is predicted to rule in June on its first January 6 case — a vital resolution that would upend the obstruction expenses towards Trump and a whole lot of rioters, lots of whom have already been convicted.
The Supreme Courtroom can also be deciding on a problem from Trump himself, whose attorneys argued to the justices that he’s immune from legal prosecution for something he did whereas in workplace.
Trump is going through felony expenses accusing him of trying to subvert the 2020 election outcomes throughout his ultimate days as president.
