Second flag carried by Jan. 6 rioters displayed outside house owned by Justice Alito, report says

Second flag carried by Jan. 6 rioters displayed outside house owned by Justice Alito, report says

A second flag of a type carried by rioters during the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was displayed outside a house owned by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

An “Appeal to Heaven” flag was flown outside Alito’s beach vacation home last summer, according to photographs obtained by the Times and interviews with multiple neighbors and passersby. An inverted American flag — another symbol carried by rioters — was seen at Alito’s home outside Washington less than two weeks after the violent attack on the Capitol. Alito has said the flag was briefly flown by his wife amid a dispute with neighbors and he had no part in it.

News of the upside-down American flag sparked an uproar last week, including calls from high-ranking Democrats for Alito to recuse himself from cases related to former President Donald Trump.

Alito and the court declined to respond to requests for comment on how the “Appeal to Heaven” flag came to be flying and what it was intended to express. He previously said the inverted American flag was flown by his wife amid a dispute with neighbors, and he had no part in it.

The white flag with a green pine tree was seen flying at the Alito beach home in New Jersey, according to three photographs obtained by the Times. The images were taken on different dates in July and September 2023, though it wasn't clear how long it was flying overall or how much time Alito spent there.

The flag dates back to the Revolutionary War, but in more recent years it has become associated with Christian nationalism and support for Trump. It was carried by rioters fueled by Trump's “Stop the Steal” movement animated by false claims of election fraud.

Republicans in Congress and state officials have also displayed the flag. House Speaker Mike Johnson hung it at his office last fall shortly after winning the gavel. A spokesman said the speaker appreciates its rich history and was given the flag by a pastor who served as a guest chaplain for the House.

Alito, meanwhile, is taking part in two pending Supreme Court cases associated with Jan. 6: whether Trump has immunity from prosecution for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and whether a certain obstruction charge can be used against rioters. He also participated in the court’s unanimous ruling that states can’t bar Trump from the ballot using the “insurrection clause” that was added to the Constitution after the Civil War.

News of the second flag brought renewed calls for Alito to step aside from the Trump-related cases. “At this point it is difficult to make any reasonable case for Alito’s impartiality. It can and must be questioned. As a result, he must not sit on cases about the 2020 election or the insurrection he appears to have supported,” said Noah Bookbinder, president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. The group represented Colorado voters in the “insurrection clause” case at the high court seeking to bar Trump from the ballot.

There has been no indication Alito would step aside from the cases.

It's the latest in a string of controversies surrounding Alito.

According to a financial disclosure filing for the justice that was recently made public, Alito sold shares of beer giant Anheuser-Busch as conservatives were ditching the Bud Light brewer over its partnership with transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney, CNBC reports.

The transactions have revived accusations that Alito, one of the high court’s six conservatives, is engaging in or aligning with partisan politics, despite a recently adopted code of conduct that directs the justices to “refrain from political activity.”

The policy was in reaction public backlash over a series of reports by the nonprofit investigative journalism organization ProPublica, which revealed some justices received gifts and luxury vacations from wealthy benefactors.

ProPublica reported that Alito accepted a 2008 trip to a luxury fishing lodge in Alaska from two wealthy Republican donors, one of whom repeatedly had interests before the court, and he did not disclose the trips on his financial disclosure for that year.

Another conservative justice, Clarence Thomas, also has ignored calls to recuse himself from cases related to the 2020 election because of his wife Virginia Thomas' support for efforts to overturn Trump's loss to President Joe Biden.

Public trust in the Supreme Court, meanwhile, recently hit its lowest point in at least 50 years.

Judicial ethics codes focus on the need for judges to be independent, avoiding political statements or opinions on matters they could be called on to decide. The Supreme Court had long gone without its own code of ethics, but it adopted one in November 2023 in the face of sustained criticism over undisclosed trips and gifts from wealthy benefactors to some justices. The code lacks a means of enforcement, however.

OTHER NEWS

17 minutes ago

‘Terrible’: Paul Murray reveals the ‘big fear’ about vaping

19 minutes ago

Live updates: Julian Assange arrives for plea deal hearing in Saipan

19 minutes ago

Cargo ship draws Suez Canal blockage comparisons after becoming stuck in Cambridge river

19 minutes ago

England player ratings vs Slovenia: Kobbie Mainoo and Cole Palmer make impact after Conor Gallagher nightmare

19 minutes ago

Concrete interest: Palace could use Olise fee to land dream Eze partner

19 minutes ago

Smiling robot face is made from living human skin cells

19 minutes ago

Pro-Palestinian protesters and counter-protesters face off at new Montreal encampment

19 minutes ago

‘How do you justify that?’: Incoming Governor-General’s $200k pay rise amid cost of living crisis

19 minutes ago

Justice Department urges Supreme Court to decide if felons can be barred from having a gun

19 minutes ago

King Hosts Japanese Royals at Glittering State Banquet

19 minutes ago

Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers: who owns the team?

19 minutes ago

Eva Longoria, 49, reveals she's proud of her 'very cultured' six-year-old son Santiago who 'understands and appreciates other cultures'

19 minutes ago

Manchester United 'close to £27m Erik ten Hag deal' as Manuel Ugarte bid tabled

19 minutes ago

The new £110,500 BMW M5 is a 717bhp plug-in hybrid that weighs as much as a Bentley

19 minutes ago

NHS weight loss services unable to keep up with spiralling demand

19 minutes ago

IRS apologizes to Ken Griffin and thousands of Americans for tax data leak

19 minutes ago

LARRY KUDLOW: Why is President Biden so 'intent on disrespecting' the Supreme Court?

19 minutes ago

2024 Chicago Pride Parade: New timing, route, closures and more

19 minutes ago

Cramer's Lightning Round: Hartford Financial Services Group ‘can go even higher'

19 minutes ago

How will Ald. Ed Burke pay his $2 million fine after his sentencing?

19 minutes ago

Dallas Mayor will host 28th annual Back to School Fair in August, register now

19 minutes ago

Houston public official accused of misusing millions in public funds

19 minutes ago

Reports: Jim Schlossnagle to leave Texas A&M for head coach job at Texas

19 minutes ago

VERIFY: Yes, In Texas, pedestrians have to yield to vehicles in some cases

21 minutes ago

England in line for more criticism after bore draw confirms their passage to the final 16 of the Euros

21 minutes ago

Data centers, EVs to significantly boost US power load by 2030, consultancy says

25 minutes ago

Woman gets help from NBC 5 Responds after fraudsters hacked her Facebook account selling fake Taylor Swift concert tickets

25 minutes ago

DHS identifies over 400 migrants brought to the U.S. by an ISIS-affiliated human smuggling network

25 minutes ago

Source: Jim Schlossnagle leaving Texas A&M for Texas baseball job

27 minutes ago

After a June filled with rain, mosquitoes are on the horizon for Regina

27 minutes ago

Inaugural downtown Calgary office-to-residential project called an instant success

27 minutes ago

Can't stop the (classical) music

29 minutes ago

Dallas City Council may consider weed legalization amendment for voter approval

29 minutes ago

Stock futures are little changed after S&P 500 ends 3-day decline: Live updates

29 minutes ago

Aussies feel social media fails to stop 'scam war'

29 minutes ago

Clarence Thomas just confirmed the dangers of his favorite judicial philosophy

29 minutes ago

Poilievre to attend AFN annual general assembly for first time as Conservative leader

29 minutes ago

Bayern Munich maintain pursuit of Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha

29 minutes ago

Monica Lewinsky wants Judge Aileen Cannon overseeing Trump classified docs case impeached

29 minutes ago

Emma Raducanu relishing 'being independent' after stunning Sloane Stephens win in Eastbourne