Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito offered an explanation for the pro-Trump symbol hanging outside his Virginia home in the weeks after the Capitol riots: His wife put it there.
The New York Times first reported that an upside-down American flag was flown at the conservative judge’s property in January 2021, just weeks after the Capitol riot.
The inverted flags were a symbol used by the “Stop the Steal” movement, according to the Times, which falsely claims that President Joe Biden did not legitimately win the 2020 election.
The flag reportedly flew in the Alitos’ yard as the court decided whether to hear cases regarding the legitimacy of the election. The Supreme Court ultimately refused to hear the cases; Alito then disagreed and wanted to take over the files.
The American Flag Code states that the American flag should not be flown upside down except “except in cases of extreme distress or extreme danger to life or property.”
But when asked by the Times about the flag, Alito blamed his wife.
“I had no involvement in the display of the flag,” Justice Alito told the Times in an email. “It was briefly placed by Ms. Alito in response to a neighbor’s use of objectionable and personally insulting language on street signs.”
Justice Alito’s wife, Martha-Ann, had clashed with a neighbor who was displaying an anti-Trump sign using an expletive, according to the Times.
The pro-Trump symbol is ethically questionable because Supreme Court justices are supposed to maintain neutrality on questions that might come before them, according to experts cited by the Times and the Court’s own code of conduct.
Another conservative Supreme Court justice, Clarence Thomas, is himself accused of unethical behavior. A series of ProPublica investigations revealed that Thomas accepted lavish gifts and vacations from a wealthy Republican donor, but failed to disclose them.
Thomas denied any wrongdoing and the donor said Thomas was simply a friend.
The Supreme Court’s public information office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
The court is expected to rule in June on its first case from Jan. 6 — a crucial ruling that could overturn obstruction charges against Trump and hundreds of rioters, many of whom have already been convicted.
The Supreme Court is also ruling on a challenge from Trump himself, whose lawyers argued to the justices that he was immune from criminal prosecution for everything he did while in office.
Trump faces criminal charges accusing him of trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election during his final days as president.
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