Neil W. McCabe, the national political editor of The Star News Network, covered the May 9 protest in front of the family home of Justice Samuel Alito organized by ShutDownDC.
In the days after the leak, pro-abortion protesters gathered at the Supreme Court, by now the activists are targeting where the conservative justices live.
The march through the residential neighborhood comes after similar demonstrations in front of other conservative justices, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
The march to Alito’s home comes one week after the German-owned media outlet “Politico” posted a leaked draft of Alito’s draft majority opinion in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health case, in which the jurist calls for the overturn of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that created the constitutional right to an abortion.
TRANSCRIPT
McCabe: One week after the German media outlet Politico posted a leaked draft of Justice Samuel Alito’s majority opinion in the Dobbs v. Jackson women’s health case, in which Alito calls for the overturn of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which created the constitutional right to an abortion pro-abortion activists have moved their protests from here at the Supreme Court to the homes of the conservative justices, including Alito.
The Washington-based pressure group shut down D.C. and led a May 9th march through Alito’s neighborhood to his Alexandria, Virginia, home. As police officers lined the entrance to the driveway, speaker after speaker riled up the crowd.
Activist says, ‘This is not only a threat to abortion and the right to choose, this is also a threat to contraception such as birth control, IUDs Plan B, LGBTQ+ rights, and same-sex marriage.’ (Cheers)
McCabe: This protest followed similar demonstrations at the residences of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Robert Hennecke, the executive director and general counsel of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, told The Star News Network why these protests are a threat to American democracy.
Hennecke: And the threat here is that if the justices insert their personal viewpoints, their fears of being intimidated or the fears of their families being attacked, and that affects the outcome of the case, then it destroys the entire integrity, role, and function of this co-equal branch of government.
McCabe: White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, the afternoon before the march on Alito’s House dismissed concerns about the protesters targeting the family homes of conservative justices.
Psaki said, ‘Yes, you’re seeing an outcry by the nearly two-thirds of the public, many of them peacefully protesting. We have not seen violence or vandalism against Supreme Court justices. We have seen it at Catholic churches. That’s unacceptable. The President does not support that.’
McCabe: The pro-abortion forces have been careful walking up to the line. It is a federal felony to threaten a federal judge or his family, and it may also be prosecuted as obstruction of justice. Reporting for The Star News Network, Neil W. McCabe, Washington.
