Judge Alito of the US Supreme Court is under massive criticism: He is said to have once again hoisted a flag on his property that is used by nationalists and Trump supporters. Alito rejects accusations of bias.
Conservative US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has rejected calls to recuse himself from several cases due to bias following criticism over controversial flags in front of his property. In a letter to members of the US Congress, the 74-year-old said that his wife was responsible for raising the two controversial flags. Neither of the two incidents justified his removal, he wrote.
Flag used during the storming of the Capitol
The New York Times published photos showing the judge’s vacation home in the US state of New Jersey last summer. In front of it flies a flag depicting a pine tree and the words “An Appeal to Heaven”. The symbolism goes back a long way in US history, but has recently been used primarily by ultra-right Christians. On January 6, 2021, some of Trump’s supporters carried such a flag with them when they violently stormed the Capitol.
Before that, the New York Times had already made another case public: an upside-down US flag that was said to have been hoisted in front of Alito’s house in Alexandria, Virginia, on January 17, 2021 – a few days after the storming of the Capitol. This symbolism is also used by Trump’s supporters and played a role in the riots.
“An Appeal to Heaven”: This flag was carried by some Trump supporters when they violently stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Violation of the ethics rules for judges?
Critics had called on Alito to stay out of Supreme Court matters related to the storming of the US Capitol and former President Donald Trump. The existence of the flags in front of the buildings was a violation of the ethics rules for judges and sowed doubts about Alito’s impartiality, they argued.
Alito said he did not know the upside-down flag was flying over his house until it was brought to his attention. “As soon as I saw it, I asked my wife to take it down, but she refused for several days,” he wrote in nearly identical letters to Democrats in the House and Senate.
The Supreme Court is currently reviewing two cases related to the attack by Trump supporters on the Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021. They concern charges against the rioters and the question of whether Trump enjoys immunity from prosecution on charges of election interference.