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

WASHINGTON (AP) — A second flag of a kind carried by rioters through the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was displayed outdoors a home owned by Supreme Courtroom Justice Samuel Alito, The New York Instances reported Wednesday.

An “Attraction to Heaven” flag was flown outdoors Alito’s seaside trip dwelling final summer time. An inverted American flag — one other image carried by rioters — was seen at Alito’s dwelling outdoors Washington lower than two weeks after the violent assault on the Capitol.

Information of the upside-down American flag sparked an uproar final week, together with calls from high-ranking Democrats for Alito to recuse himself from instances associated to former President Donald Trump.

Alito and the court docket declined to answer requests for touch upon how the “Attraction to Heaven” flag got here to be flying and what it was supposed to precise. He beforehand mentioned the inverted American flag was flown by his spouse amid a dispute with neighbors, and he had no half in it.

The white flag with a inexperienced pine tree was seen flying on the Alito seaside dwelling in New Jersey, in line with three pictures obtained by the Instances. The pictures have been taken on completely different dates in July and September 2023, although it wasn’t clear how lengthy it was flying total or how a lot time Alito spent there.

The flag dates again to the Revolutionary Battle, however in newer years it has turn out to be related to Christian nationalism and assist for Trump. It was carried by rioters fueled by Trump’s “Cease the Steal” motion animated by false claims of election fraud.

Republicans in Congress and state officers have additionally displayed the flag. Home Speaker Mike Johnson hung it at his workplace final fall shortly after successful the gavel. A spokesman mentioned the speaker appreciates its wealthy historical past and was given the flag by a pastor who served as a visitor chaplain for the Home.

Alito, in the meantime, is participating in two pending Supreme Courtroom instances related to Jan. 6: whether or not Trump has immunity from prosecution for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election outcomes and whether or not a sure obstruction cost can be utilized towards rioters. He additionally participated within the court docket’s unanimous ruling that states can’t bar Trump from the poll utilizing the “rebellion clause” that was added to the Structure after the Civil Battle.

Information of the second flag introduced renewed requires Alito to step other than the Trump-related instances. “At this level it’s tough to make any affordable case for Alito’s impartiality. It could actually and should be questioned. Consequently, he should not sit on instances concerning the 2020 election or the rebellion he seems to have supported,” mentioned Noah Bookbinder, president of Residents for Duty and Ethics in Washington. The group represented Colorado voters within the “rebellion clause” case on the excessive court docket looking for to bar Trump from the poll.

There was no indication Alito would step other than the instances.

One other conservative justice, Clarence Thomas, additionally has ignored calls to recuse himself from instances associated to the 2020 election due to his spouse Virginia Thomas’ assist for efforts to overturn Trump’s loss to President Joe Biden.

Public belief within the Supreme Courtroom, in the meantime, lately hit its lowest level in no less than 50 years.

Judicial ethics codes give attention to the necessity for judges to be unbiased, avoiding political statements or opinions on issues they could possibly be referred to as on to resolve. The Supreme Courtroom had lengthy gone with out its personal code of ethics, but it surely adopted one in November 2023 within the face of sustained criticism over undisclosed journeys and items from rich benefactors to some justices. The code lacks a method of enforcement, nevertheless.