First, the Alito family flew an upside-down American flag at their Alexandria, Virginia home. Supreme Court justice Samuel Alito said his wife Martha-Ann hung the flag in the context of an argument with a neighbor who had a vulgar anti-Trump yard sign. Apparently she could not rise about this. Instead, she decided to show solidarity with the January 6 insurrectionists.
Then, today, we learned that the Alitos flew an “Appeal to Heaven” flag at their beach house at the Jersey shore (Long Beach Island to be specific). The “Appeal to Heaven” flag has roots in the American Revolution. See David Swartz’s helpful piece on its history here. On January 6, 2021, the flag was waved by Christian nationalists at the U.S. Capitol insurrection.
Should Supreme Court justice Samuel Alito recuse himself from cases related to the 2020 election as Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) is calling him to do? Probably. But it’s not going to happen.
My question is what the Alito’s were thinking by flying these flags? Do they really find solidarity with the insurrectionists? With Trump? Don’t get me wrong, everyone has political views and are free to express them, but isn’t it appropriate for a Supreme Court justice to try to stay above the fray in the way a good republican leader would do? Alito is a smart guy–a history buff. He knows what this flag meant during the American Revolution and he knows how that flag is being used today.