National News
After the 2020 presidential election, when some Trump supporters falsely claimed that President Joe Biden had stolen the office, lots of them displayed a startling symbol outside their homes, on their cars and in online posts: an upside-down American flag.
One of the homes displaying an inverted flag on the time was the residence of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in Alexandria, Virginia, in line with photos and interviews with neighbors.
The the other way up flag flew on January 17, 2021, the pictures showed. President Donald Trump's supporters, including some wearing the identical symbol, had rioted on the Capitol just over per week earlier. Biden's inauguration was still three days away. Alarmed neighbors took photos, a few of which were recently obtained by The New York Times. News of the flag reached the courthouse, individuals who worked there said in interviews.
While the flag was up, the court was still grappling with whether to listen to a case concerning the 2020 election, with Alito the loser in that call. In the approaching weeks, the justices will resolve two crucial cases related to the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol, including whether Trump enjoys immunity for his actions. Their decisions will determine how he could be held accountable for attempting to overturn the last presidential election and his possibilities of re-election within the upcoming election.
“I was not involved in the raising of the flag at all,” Alito said in an email statement to the Times. “It was briefly placed on yard signs by Ms. Alito in response to a neighbor’s use of offensive and personally offensive language.”
Justice experts said in interviews that the flag was a transparent violation of ethics rules that seek to avoid even the looks of bias and will raise doubts about Alito's impartiality in cases related to the election and the Capitol rebellion.
The mere impression of a political opinion may very well be an issue, the ethics experts said. “It could be his spouse or someone else living in his house, but he shouldn't have it in his yard as his message to the world,” said Amanda Frost, a law professor on the University of Virginia.
This is “the equivalent of putting a 'Stop the Steal' sign in your yard, which is a problem when deciding election-related cases,” she said.
Interviews show that the judge's wife, Martha-Ann Alito, had argued with one other family on the block over an anti-Trump sign on their lawn, but given the timing and clarity of the symbol, neighbors interpreted the upside-down flag as one political statement by the couple.
The longstanding Code of Ethics for the lower courts, in addition to the Code of Ethics recently adopted by the Supreme Court, emphasize the necessity for judges to stay independent and avoid political statements or opinions on matters that could be brought before them.
“You always want to proactively create the appearance of impartiality,” Jeremy Fogel, a former federal judge and director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute, said in an interview. “The best course of action would be to make sure there is nothing like this in front of your house.”
The court has also repeatedly warned its own employees against public expressions of partisan views, in line with guidelines distributed to employees and reviewed by the Times. Posting signs or bumper stickers isn’t permitted, in line with the court's internal rules and a 2022 memo reaffirming the ban on political activity.
When asked whether these rules also apply to judges, the court declined to reply.
The exact length of time the flag flew in front of the Alito residence is unclear. In a Jan. 18, 2021, email reviewed by the Times, a neighbor wrote to a relative that the flag had been the other way up for several days at that time.
In recent years, his street's quiet sanctuary has seen conflict with residents who’re Republicans and Democrats, neighbors said. Around the 2020 election, a family on the block displayed an anti-Trump sign with a slur. This apparently offended Martha-Ann Alito and, in line with interviews, led to an escalating conflict between her and the family.
Some residents also responded to the noise and intrusion of protesters outside the Alito residence in 2022 after the Supreme Court struck down federal abortion rights. Other neighbors joined the protesters, whose intent was to “broadcast the protest into their private lives because the decisions affect our private lives,” said Heather-Ann Irons, who took to the streets to protest.
The half dozen neighbors who saw or knew concerning the flag requested anonymity because they said they didn’t wish to increase tensions within the bloc and feared reprisals. Last Saturday, May 11, protesters returned to the streets, waving their very own flags (“Don’t step on my uterus”) and using a megaphone to broadcast profanities against Alito, who was giving an inaugural speech in Ohio. Martha-Ann Alito appeared in a window and complained to Supreme Court security outside.
Historians have said in interviews that flipping the American flag was a logo of distress and distress and was initially used as a military distress signal. In recent a long time, it has been increasingly used as a political protest symbol – a contentious issue since the flag code and military tradition require respectful use of the United States' highest symbol.
Over the years, the other way up flags have been flown by each the best and the left in protest over a spread of issues, including the Vietnam War, gun violence, the Supreme Court's repeal of the constitutional right to abortion, and, most notably, election results. In 2012, Tea Party supporters flipped flags on their homes to signal their displeasure with President Barack Obama's re-election. Four years later, some liberals suggested doing the identical after Trump's election.
During Trump's push to win after which undermine the 2020 election, the gesture took on unprecedented traction and have become “truly established as a symbol of the 'Stop the Steal' campaign,” in line with Alex Newhouse, a researcher on the University of California. Colorado boulders.
A flood of social media Posts admonished Trump supporters at that turn around their flags or buy New ones are displayed the other way up.
“When January 6th comes around and Biden is confirmed by the Electoral College, our nation is in trouble!!” a poster wrote on Patriots.win, a forum for Trump supporters that received greater than 1,000 upvotes. “If you can’t go to the DC rally, you must do your duty and show your support for our President by flying the flag upside down!!!!”
Local newspapers from Lexington, Kentucky, To Sun City, Arizona, to North Jersey wrote concerning the flags popping up nearby. Just a few days before the inauguration, a Senate candidate in Minnesota flew an upside-down flag on his Campaign vehicle.
Hanging an upside-down flag in front of a house is “a clear sign that you are part of this community that believes America has been conquered and must be reconquered,” Newhouse said.
This spring, many Americans already suspect that the selections they make within the January 6 cases can be partisan. Justice Clarence Thomas refused to recuse himself, though his wife, Virginia Thomas, was directly involved in the trouble to overturn the election.
Now, with decisions within the Jan. 6 cases expected in only a couple of weeks, an identical debate over Alito could unfold, ethics experts said. “It's really a question of appearance and the potential impact on the public's trust in the court,” Fogel said. “I think it would be better for the court if he were not involved in cases related to the 2020 election. But I’m pretty sure he’ll see it differently.”
If Alito were to face one other court, Fogel said, the flag could also trigger some form of review to find out whether there was wrongdoing. But since the Supreme Court acts as an arbiter of its own conduct, “there's really no place to take it,” he said.
image credit : www.boston.com