A second flag carried by rioters during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol was displayed outside a home owned by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, according to a shocking report in The New York Times.
The newspaper published photos from neighbors and from Google Street View showing an “Appeal to Heaven” flag flying outside the judge’s beach house on Long Beach Island, New Jersey.
The flag, featuring a green pine tree on a white background, dates to the Revolutionary War but is now associated with Christian nationalists and those who were former President Donald Trump.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) showed up in his office last year after being elected to the post.
A Google Maps image taken in August 2023 shows the “Appeal to Heaven” flag flying outside a beach house identified by the Times as Alito’s.
The Supreme Court did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The latest report comes after a New York Times investigation revealed that an upside-down American flag – used as a symbol for Trump’s ‘Stop the Steal’ movement – was flown outside the judge’s home in Alexandria, Virginia, on January 17, 2021 . That was just over a week after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol — and as the nation’s Supreme Court was hearing cases involving the integrity of the 2020 presidential election.
Alito made a brief statement about the upside-down flag, saying he was not responsible for its display outside his home and that it was related to a dispute his wife had with neighbors at the time.
“I was in no way involved in raising the flag,” he told the Times. “It was briefly posted by Ms. Alito in response to a neighbor’s use of offensive and personally insulting language on yard signs.”
The dual flag reports have prompted many Democrats to call on Alito to recuse himself from matters related to the Jan. 6 attack, with some members of the House of Representatives saying the symbols “at least give the appearance of inappropriate political create bias”. Even Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said the decision to fly the flag upside down did not show “good judgment.”
There are currently two cases pending in court related to January 6, including Trump’s claim that he is immune from all prosecution related to his duties while in the White House.
