Alito's Extremist Flags Are Just The Tip Of The Radical SCOTUS Iceberg

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's homes flew two flags associated with January 6. One of them symbolizes Christian Nationalism. This is a microcosm of the right-wing radicalism in this 6-3 SCOTUS.

An up-side-down flag flying outside of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s home on January 17, 2021 - (The New York Times/MSNBC)

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The 2022 6-3 ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade showcased the real-world impacts of a right-wing Supreme Court majority. New revelations have put a spotlight on the dangerous far-right personal beliefs that drive one of the most influential justices sitting on the high court.

Earlier this month, Jodi Kantor of The New York Times broke a story that would add fuel to an ongoing controversy over the ethics, or lack thereof, of the conservative-majority Supreme Court.

Recently, Kantor received a tip about an upside-down flag that was seen flying at Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s Virginia home in January 2021. After some investigation, she received a January 17, 2021, photograph proving that the flag was indeed flown. At the time, the flag was being used as a symbol for the “Stop The Steal” movement and was proudly waved by some January 6 rioters.

Alito penned the majority opinion in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, which struck down federal abortion rights. His right-wing views are no secret. But this brazen display of support for an undemocratic movement seeking to overturn the 2020 election crossed several lines, including basic Supreme Court ethics rules that prohibit displays of political bias.

Justice Alito is currently deciding whether Donald Trump should be immune from prosecution for his effort to overturn the 2020 election, and apparently, Alito’s home waved a flag that supported that effort.

Notably, in his initial comment, Justice Alito didn’t deny the meaning of that flag or its intent and instead blamed his wife, Martha-Ann Alito, for the flag:

“I had no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag. It was briefly placed by Mrs. Alito in response to a neighbor’s use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs.”

New reporting from The New York Times and Jodi Kantor calls into question Alito’s explanation:

There are some differences: For instance, the justice told Fox News that his wife hoisted the flag in response to Ms. Baden’s vulgar insult. A text message and the police call — corroborated by Fairfax County authorities — indicate, however, that the name-calling took place on Feb. 15, weeks after the inverted flag was taken down.

And, according to the neighbor in question, there was also an incident on inauguration day, January 20, 2021, which took place days after the January 17 photo of the upside-down flag was taken. More from that New York Times story:

“Mrs. Alito happened to be standing outside. According to interviews with Ms. Baden and her husband, as well as messages they sent to friends at the time, Mrs. Alito ran toward their car and yelled something they did not understand. The couple continued driving, they said, and as they passed the Alito home again to exit the cul-de-sac, Mrs. Alito appeared to spit toward the vehicle.”

It was that same day that a Washington Post reporter visited the Alito home after being tipped about the flag and had a run-in with Mrs. Alito, who yelled that the flag was an “international signal of distress.”

This past weekend, The Washington Post reported on that incident with Mrs. Alito and admitted they had this flag story in January 2021 but decided not to publish it. They relied on Alito’s explanation that it was simply a dispute with a neighbor. We can only wonder how much of an impact this would have had if it had been published during the immediate aftermath of January 6.

Even if The Washington Post wasn’t 100% convinced about the intent of the flag, I still think they should’ve published it. They could’ve published the fact the flag was flown, discussed how the flag was also used by “Stop The Steal,” published Alito’s statement, and raised questions. Instead they opted to keep this story from the public for three years.

Any reasonable doubt that the Washington Post or others might have had about the intent of the flag was shattered after Jodi Kantor followed up her story with the discovery of a second, even more overtly far-right flag.

Last week, The New York Times revealed that a second flag associated with January 6 was flown at Alito’s vacation home in New Jersey for months in the Summer of 2023. It was an “Appeal To Heaven” flag, which has become a symbol of Christian Nationalism that was flown prominently by January 6 rioters.

“Appeal To Heaven” flag flying outside of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s New Jersey vacation home (CNN)

The New York Times broke down the significance of the “Appeal To Heaven” flag and how right-wing Christian author Dutch Sheets appropriated the flag from the American Revolution and turned it into a symbol of Christian Nationalism. Not only did Sheets’s use of the flag become a pro-Trump symbol, but Sheets and his far-right evangelical movement also placed the Supreme Court and Justice Alito at the center of their cause. From The New York Times:

In 2013, Mr. Sheets, a prominent figure in a far-right evangelical movement that scholars have called the New Apostolic Reformation, discovered the nearly forgotten flag and made it the symbol of his ambitions to steep the country and the government in Christianity, he wrote in a 2015 book also titled “An Appeal to Heaven.”

…He placed the high court at the center of his mission. In 2015, the court’s ruling that states must allow same-sex marriage had galvanized the movement and helped it to grow. In a speech three years later, he said, “There’s no gate that has allowed more evil to enter our nation than that of the Supreme Court.”

But Mr. Sheets and fellow leaders described Justice Alito, the member of the court most committed to expanding the role of faith in public life, as their great hope: a vocal defender of religious liberty and opponent of the right to abortion and same-sex marriage.

When it came to the report of this second flag, Justice Alito declined to respond to the New York Times’ questions. This flag is much harder to explain away. Its Christian Nationalist meanings are clear. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) also had this flag flying outside of his office, which was reported last year.

Democratic lawmakers have called for Justice Alito to recuse himself from cases involving Donald Trump and January 6. In a letter to Congress sent today, Alito again blamed his wife and rejected calls for recusal.

This week, ProPublica reported that Leonard Leo, Co-Chair of the Federalist Society, the organization responsible for the pipeline of conservative judges and justices America has today, flew the same “Appeal To Heaven” flag. The extremism permeating the conservative judiciary is no accident.

The right-wing tilt of the Supreme Court was engineered by a right-wing legal and political infrastructure built by people like Leonard Leo and implemented by people like Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Donald Trump, who appointed 3 conservative justices to the court during his first term.

This decades-long right-wing effort to stack the judiciary with right-wing judges has resulted in a SCOTUS with Justices like Clarence Thomas, who is as right-wing as they come. Thomas refuses to recuse himself from January 6 related cases in spite of the fact his wife, Ginni Thomas, played a role in the plot to overturn the 2020 election.

Just today, Rolling Stone revealed that Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s husband, Jesse Barrett, is representing the parent company of right-wing media network Fox News in a defamation lawsuit. This, of course, isn’t nearly as problematic as the conduct of Ginni Thomas, but it’s notable enough to mention.

While these justices are not responsible for the conduct of their spouses, it raises ethical questions nonetheless. How can these justices rule impartially on matters that could impact the work or conduct of their spouses? How can these justices ensure their personal biases, religious beliefs, and partisan leanings won’t impact their rulings? The answer is that they can’t.

The biases of Supreme Court justices are clear. The farce of impartiality ended decades ago. And now, the consequences of this 6-3 right-wing Supreme Court have already been profoundly felt. Roe is overturned. Trump’s election subversion trial has already been delayed by the Supreme Court’s decision to take up his immunity case. But what this 6-3 majority could mean for the future could be even worse.

New York Times reporter Charlie Savage said in an episode of The Daily last month that he believes the Supreme Court could uphold many of Trump’s unilateral actions in a second term. In other words, this 6-3 Supreme Court majority, or 5-4 if Chief Justice Roberts rules with the liberal justices, could green-light some of Trump’s authoritarian plans.

These second-term plans include a Christian Nationalist agenda that’s outlined in Project 2025, which makes Alito’s use of the “Appeal To Heaven” flag even more disturbing.

If Trump wins re-election, the power of this conservative majority could last decades. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito would almost certainly retire, which would guarantee Trump at least two more justices to appoint.

It sounds startling, but these stakes are real and should be top of mind for voters this November.