Several Democrats have claimed that the Supreme Court’s conservative majority is “out of control” after a second flag carried by January 6 rioters was seen flying outside Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s house.
Mr Alito is facing further backlash following revelations that an “Appeal to Heaven” flag was flown outside his New Jersey vacation home on multiple occasions during the summer of 2023. It comes just a week after an upside down American flag – synonymous with “Stop the Steal” protests – was discovered outside Mr Alito’s Virginia home weeks after the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021.
Now, Democrats have dismissed the idea that the erection of the flag was “chance” and say a “pattern” is emerging, further highlighting the politicization of the current court, which is supposed to be the most impartial arm of government in politics.
The far-right symbol, also known as the “Pine Tree Flag” was carried by pro-Trump rioters in the attack on the US Capitol in 2021 in their efforts to overturn the election.
Designed by a George Washington staffer, Colonel Joseph Reed, in the 18th century, it dates back to the Revolutionary War and is a symbol of staunchly religious, conservative Christians.
Democrats are now casting doubts on Mr Alito’s judicial ethics, claiming he’s succumbing to his personal views and political bias. Justice Clarence Thomas has also made headlines this week for seemingly arguing that the Supreme Court should not be policing racial gerrymandering.
“We have an out of control Supreme Court majority,” Senator Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told The Hill.
Mr Thomas and Mr Alito were both criticised last September by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for accepting “lavish gifts and vacations” from their “powerful, billionaire friends”.
“Frustration with the court in the sense that it is illegitimate is extremely high,” Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) told the outlet.
“Compared to 20 years ago, you never really heard about that as an issue. There was a sense that the court’s above politics, they’re calling the balls and strikes, and that’s completely gone,” he added.
Last week, The New York Times uncovered that a flagpole on Mr Alito’s front lawn at a property in Virginia had flown an upside-down American flag in late 2020 and early 2021, in the days after Joe Biden took office.
The symbol is also used by some Maga supporters to contest the US presidential election results in 2020, which saw Joe Biden beat Mr Trump.
Photos taken by allegedly alarmed neighbours show the upside-down flag flying on Mr Alito’s lawn in Alexandria, Virginia, on January 17, 2021.
Mr Alito told the newspaper that he “had no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag,” adding that it was “placed by Mrs Alito”.
Democrats are contesting his claims as the justice attempts to distance himself from controversy.
“The first instance of the American flag in distress mode [Alito] dismissed as a chance indiscretion by his wife who was emotional about a confrontation with a neighbor,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) told The Hill.
“The second one really shows a pattern,” he added.
Democrats believe that the stories about the flags will fuel calls to reform the Supreme Court.
US public sentiment of the Supreme Court hit the floor according to Pew Research Center’s findings last summer. More than half Americans (54 percent) express an unfavourable opinion of the high court – a decline of 26 per cent since 2020.
