WASHINGTON — US Supreme Court justices will received around-the-clock security at home, among other protections, following the leaked draft opinion advocating overturning abortion rights.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland directed the US Marshals Service to step up the personal protection for the nine justices last week, according to the Justice Department. Garland on Wednesday held a meeting between DOJ and Supreme Court officials to discuss coordination and intelligence sharing regarding judicial security.
“The rise of violence and unlawful threats of violence directed at those who serve the public is unacceptable and dangerous to our democracy,” Garland said in a release. “I want to be clear: while people vote, argue, and debate in a democracy, we must not — we cannot — allow violence or unlawful threats of violence to permeate our national life.”
Garland announced last week that DOJ will provide security services for the justices as the Supreme Court appears poised to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide. Publication of a leaked draft opinion that would overturn abortion rights has led to nationwide protests, including some at the homes of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh in the suburbs of Washington.
Fencing has been erected around the Supreme Court, much like the barriers put up after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
