Republican Governor Offers Security Backup To SCOTUS Justices After DOJ Goes AWOL

OPINION: This article contains commentary which may reflect the author's opinion

Last week we learned that conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was moved for safety as leftists attempt to intimidate justices into changing their decision on overruling Roe v. Wade.

Militant leftists, including a group called Ruth Sent Us, are trying to physically intimidate the five justices who are expected to sign the final version of Alito’s leaked opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overruling Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, with the other four justices being Clarence Thomas – appointed by Bush 41 – and the three justices appointed by Donald Trump: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.

They are also reportedly targeting Chief Justice John Roberts. This shows the unreasoning nature of their ire, as Roberts’ questions during the oral argument in Dobbs strongly suggest that he was exploring ways to uphold Mississippi’s ban without overruling Roe.

While doxing the justices’ home addresses is ostensibly so protesters can go to those justices’ homes to protest – which many Americans consider objectionable by itself, and in fact which violates federal law at 18 U.S.C. § 1507 – many others also note this could lead to violence if an activist were to attack a justice or the justice’s family.

Now, Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia appears to have stepped in to fill a gap left by the Biden administration’s Justice Department when it came to protecting Supreme Court justices and their families.

As a result of a draft majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization being leaked, protesters have come to the homes of conservative Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito, John Roberts, and Brett Kavanaugh in Virginia and Maryland.

Among the signatories to the opinion are Alito, Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, and Clarence Thomas, which would overturn Roe v. Wade’s 1973 ruling. Roe overturned every state law banning abortion, ensuring it as a right of every citizen.

In front of Alito’s home, there were people shouting, “F*** you, Alito,” and “Abort the court.”

In an interview with Fox News host Neil Cavuto on Wednesday, Youngkin said, “This leak was done in order to influence and, oh, by the way, to intimidate our justices.

“And that’s exactly what these parades and picket lines and demonstrators are trying to do is influence and intimate our justices,” he continued.

The Republican governor of Maryland, Larry Hogan, and Youngkin sent a letter to A.G Merrick Garland on Wednesday urging him to enforce federal law and end the protests outside the houses of the justices.

The letter states, “While protesting a final opinion from the Supreme Court is commonplace when done on the steps of the Court or in the public square, the circumstances of the current picketing at the Justices’ private homes in residential neighborhoods are markedly different.”

According to the two, it is illegal to picket or parade at a judge’s home with the purpose of inducing them to discharge their duties.

Cavuto was advised by Youngkin that Alito’s draft opinion is not a final decision.

“It’s a draft ruling, and clearly these demonstrations are being pulled together to try to influence the final outcome, and that is prohibited based on federal statute,” he stated.

“This is wrong. We have justices who have small children. They have neighbors and families,” Youngkin emphasized.

Youngkin also said that he has asked the local police to set up a perimeter around each of the justices’ houses in Virginia. State police are ready to assist, as necessary.

Youngkin and Hogan demanded of A.G. Garland in the letter, “It is in your hands to ensure that applicable federal law is enforced to preserve the integrity of our American judicial system and the safety of our citizens.”

In conclusion, they called on the attorney general to uphold the law.

“It is critical that our Department [of Justice] acts to preserve the safety and standards of the highest court in the land,” they said. “There is simply too much at stake.”

At a Monday press briefing, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki refused to acknowledge that protesting outside of the homes of justices is wrong.

“Yes, we are a country that promotes democracy, and we certainly allow for peaceful protest in a range of places in the country,” she stated.

In addition, she added on Tuesday that “we certainly continue to encourage” protests outside the justices’ homes.

Fox News reported:

According to federal U.S. code 1507, any individual who “pickets or parades” with the “intent of interfering with, obstructing, or impeding the administration of justice, or with the intent of influencing any judge, juror, witness, or court officer” near a U.S. court or “near a building or residence occupied or used by such judge, juror, witness, or court officer” will be fined, or “imprisoned not more than one year, or both.”

When pressed on whether protesters were violating federal law, Psaki replied:

“I think that intimidation and protests and intimidation outside of the homes of school board members, the Michigan secretary of state, you know, intimidation and threats against people seeking legal reproductive health care and against our capital and American democracy also warrant some outrage, and we haven’t really seen that.”

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