The New York Times reported Thursday that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito displayed an upside-down flag, a “Stop the Steal” symbol, at his home in the weeks after the Jan. 6 insurrection. Alito tried shifting blame onto his wife for a supposed political disagreement she had with a neighbor, which Rachel Maddow criticized on MSNBC later that day.
On Friday, Fox News’ Shannon Bream tweeted that she “spoke directly” with Alito and he elaborated on the excuse, saying that the “neighbor on their street had a ‘F— Trump’ sign that was within 50 feet of where children await the school bus in Jan 21.”
While the Alitos claim they were fretting about a school bus stop, this was January 2021, right around the time when the first round of COVID-19 vaccines was rolled out. Many schools didn’t return to in-person learning until more than a month later. In fact, the public schools in Alito’s town of Alexandria, Virginia, didn’t return from remote learning until March.
The Alitos live in the Fort Hunt suburb just south of Alexandria, so they could be referring to the bus stop of a private school that opted to open sooner than public schools. But even if there is some truth to Alito’s excuse, wouldn’t those kids also wonder why an American flag was upside down?
Whether or not Alito’s story is true, or even sort of true, one fact remains: A Supreme Court justice should not be so glib about his partisan biases.
As Amanda Frost, a law professor from the University of Virginia, told The Times, “This is the equivalent of putting a ‘Stop the Steal’ sign in your yard, which is a problem if you’re deciding election-related cases.”
