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After The New York Times reported thatthe American flag outside JusticeSamuel Alito‘s home was flown upside downin the aftermath of theJan. 6Capitol riot, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham criticized the conservative judge for failing to “think it through.”
“Emotions are apparently high in that neighborhood but no, it’s not good judgment to do that,” Graham told HuffPost on Monday. “I don’t know what role ― he said his wife was insulted and got mad ― I assume that be true, but he’s still a Supreme Court justice. And, you know, people have to realize that moments like that, to think it through.”
In a photo obtained by theTimes, the upside down flag was seen at Alito’s Virginia home less than two weeks after the rioters attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6 in an effort to overturn the results of the2020 electionas lawmakers prepared to certify President Joe Biden’s electoral victory. Neighbors told the publication that the flag remained that way for several days before being taken down.
According to theU.S. flag code, the star-spangled banner should “never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.” When theTimes reached out to Alito about the flag,he blamed his wife and said that he had “no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag.”
In 2020, following theSupreme Court’s rejection of aTexas lawsuitthat sought to overturn the results of the presidential election in four states Biden won — Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — Alito, along with Justice Clarence Thomas, dissented. (Thomas has faced his own controversyfollowingbombshell reportslast year that conservative megadonor Harlan Crow funded the justice’s lavish lifestyle for decades.)
Following the Times report, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) called on Alito to recuse himself from all cases concerning the 2020 election. “Flying an upside-down American flag — a symbol of the so-called ‘Stop the Steal’ movement — clearly creates the appearance of bias,” Durbin said in a statement. “Justice Alito should recuse himself immediately from cases related to the 2020 election and theJanuary 6thinsurrection.”
