Government of Minnesota Tim Walz (D) shared its response Friday to a new report that a symbol associated with the anti-democratic “Stop the Steal” campaign flew into Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s home following the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
The New York Times reported Thursday that an upside-down American flag is a symbol used by those who refused to accept it Donald Trump‘s defeat in the 2020 presidential election – was displayed outside Alito’s home in Alexandria, Virginia, on January 17, 2021, citing photos and interviews with neighbors. It is unclear how long the flag remained up.
Alito told the Times he had “no involvement” in the display, instead blaming his wife, Martha-Ann Alito.
“It was briefly posted by Ms. Alito in response to a neighbor’s use of offensive and personally offensive language on yard signs,” the judge said.
In an interview with CNN News Central, Walz addressed the apology.
“Let me just say that my wife never had to explain why she had a flag flying upside down at my house,” Walz said. “I mean, these aren’t normal things.”
Walz said he was “stunned” that a member of the Supreme Court put himself in a position where he had to explain why outside his hometown stood a symbol of an attempt to reject the results of a free and fair election.
He argued that this underlines why Democrats must retain the White House in November’s presidential election, when Trump, the presumptive Republican Party nominee, is expected to face President Joe Biden again.
“This is why we have to do our job, we have to focus, we have to re-elect Joe Biden, and we have to make this country do the things that Americans want us to do,” Walz said. “This is just madness.”
“This stuff is not normal… this is just madness.”@GovTimWalz responds to NYT reporting that an upside-down American flag, a common symbol for election deniers, was raised outside the home of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito after the 2020 election.@JohnBermanpic.twitter.com/0nvNWe0TqV
— CNN News Central (@NewsCentralCNN) May 17, 2024
As the flag flew outside Alito’s home, the court debated whether to ask questions about the 2020 presidential race. Ultimately, the justices dismissed the cases, over Alito’s objections.
In coming weeks, the court is also expected to rule on Trump’s claim that he should be immune from prosecution for any official actions he took during his time in the White House, including apparently his attempt to overturn the 2020 election to make.
The Code of Ethics that the court adopted last year calls on judges to refrain from making political statements.
Walz said he wouldn’t put it past Trump to claim victory in Minnesota in November regardless of the actual outcome, as the former president has previously falsely claimed he won the blue state in 2020.
“That won’t hold up in Minnesota,” Walz told CNN’s John Berman. “We will stand up for democracy. We will stand for elections.”
Trump, who will campaign in the state on Friday after attending his son Barron’s high school graduation, lost Minnesota in both the 2016 and 2020 elections.
