Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington speaks during a press conference outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, June 5, 2024. Democratic representative. Hank Johnson of Georgia, right, waits to approach the microphone. The lawmakers joined progressive groups in urging Justice Samuel Alito to recuse himself from cases related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Both Jayapal and Johnson have introduced bills related to the ethics of the Supreme Court. (Ashley Murray | States Newsroom)
WASHINGTON — Progressive lawmakers and organizers on Wednesday urged U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to recuse himself from cases related to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and testify before Congress about two flag-sympathizers with insurgents and were shown outside his two homes. .
With the Supreme Court as a backdrop, a group of about 20 people held up signs reading “Investigate Alito” and denouncing a “five-alarm fire-consuming democracy” like Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia put it.
Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said: “Chief Justice (John) Roberts and Justice Alito must testify publicly and under oath about the flag-waving incidents and how the court handled them.”
Johnson and Jayapal, respectively, have introduced bills aimed at imposing term limits on Supreme Court justices and mandating an enforceable code of ethics for the nation’s highest bench.
Johnson also joined Democratic U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman of New York on Tuesday in introducing a bill to create an independent investigative body focused on Supreme Court ethics.
Two flags
An upside-down American flag hung outside Alito’s home in Alexandria, Virginia, just days after former President Donald Trump’s supporters breached the Capitol, according to photos obtained by the New York Times.
An upside-down American flag is widely regarded across the political spectrum as a sign of distress or protest.
The Times also broke the story that an “Appeal to Heaven” flag flew over the judge’s home in Long Island Beach, New Jersey, in the summer of 2023. The white flag with a pine tree can be seen in photos of the January 6 riot. , when Trump supporters overwhelmed the Capitol and attacked and injured police officers with flagpoles, bear spray and other improvised weapons.
In a May 29 letter to lawmakers, Alito said the flags were raised by his wife and that he would reject calls to withdraw from matters related to Jan. 6.
“My wife loves waving flags. I am not,” he wrote to Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, chairman of the Federal Courts Subcommittee on the Judiciary.
Both senators, who requested a meeting with Chief Justice Roberts about Alito, are in favor of an ethics bill titled the Supreme Court’s Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act, which advanced out of committee along party lines in July 2023, but did not receive a basic vote.
Supreme Court rulings on the way
Supreme Court opinions are expected this month in two Jan. 6 cases — one involving a former police officer who breached the Capitol and is seeking to have an obstruction charge dropped. The decision could impact hundreds of Jan. 6 defendant cases, as well as the 2020 election interference case against Trump, who faces the same obstruction charge.
The court will also decide whether Trump is immune from four federal criminal charges alleging he plotted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and knowingly spread false information that led his supporters to riot on January 6 turned on.
Trump appointed three of the current sitting Supreme Court justices: conservatives Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.
At Wednesday’s rally, one of the leaders, Christina Harvey, executive director of the progressive advocacy group Stand Up America, said: “I don’t know about you, but I prefer Supreme Court justices flying their American flag let it flutter right side up.”
Harvey’s group was one of several outside the Supreme Court, including Alliance for Justice, whose justice program director Jake Faleschini also called for the resignation of Justice Clarence Thomas. A ProPublica investigation found that the justice received gifts from and traveled with major Republican donors.
“Even Judge Roberts has resigned from his duties. He appears unwilling or unable to tackle the corruption and abuse of power of his colleagues,” Faleschini said.
More flag displays
The inverted American flag and the ‘Appeal to Heaven’ flag have also been displayed in other locations.
On Friday, the conservative Heritage Foundation flew an upside-down American flag outside its Washington, D.C., office following Trump’s guilty verdict in New York on hush-money charges, according to reporting from NPR and photos from The Associated Press.
US Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson of Louisiana, one of the leading voices in the legal movement to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, displays the “Appeal to Heaven” flag outside his congressional office, according to reporting from The Associated Press.
The flag has also been spotted outside the office of GOP Rep. Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin.
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