House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) on Fox News on Friday described Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, a Bush appointee, as a “sympathizer of the insurrectionists” and also praised Justice Clarence Thomas.
Jeffries’s harsh remarks came as Alito and his wife, Martha Ann, continue to face criticism for previously flying an “Appeal to Heaven” flag, which features a pine tree on a white background.
The flag became associated with the Capitol protests on January 6, 2021, when some of the protesters who broke into the Capitol carried the flag as a reminder of its colonial significance: the flag itself dates back to the American Revolutionary War and was used at sea on Continental Navy ships in the 1770s.
The pine tree is the symbol and state tree of Maine, while the caption “An Appeal to Heaven” expresses the colonists’ hope that God would deliver them from British oppression.
Alito’s wife flies flag upside down after argument with insulting neighbor
The liberal media and Democratic Party leaders have used the classic colonial-era “Appeal to Heaven” flag to link Supreme Court Justice Alito to the January 6th rioters. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Asked about his criticism of Justices Alito and Clarence Thomas, Jeffries told Fox News’ Chad Pergram that “the American people are pretty much unanimous that the right-wing justices on the Supreme Court are completely out of control.”
“Justice Alito is a sympathizer of the insurrectionists, and it appears that his right-wing ally Clarence Thomas is as well,” said Jeffries, a term Democrats often use to describe protesters and former President Trump.
Jeffries called the meeting between Trump and Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill “shameful and embarrassing.” [they] They wanted to present the leader of the rebellion as a victorious hero.”
Jeffries also argued that the Supreme Court cannot police itself when it comes to ethics. “Since President Trump nominated the three justices, the Supreme Court has handed down a series of “highly partisan, right-wing and extreme decisions.”
Justice Alito warns college students that ‘support for free speech is declining’
“[T]This is why Democrats are winning and outperforming expectations in the fall of 2022 and beyond.”
In May, Alito responded to criticism over the “Appeal to Heaven” flag that was hung at his Alexandria, Virginia, home in the wake of the Capitol protests by telling Fox News that his wife had put the flag up for a different reason.
Alito argued that Martha Ann put up the sign because she was being insulted by a neighbor, and that the situation began when the neighbor put up an “F— Trump” sign too close to a school bus stop.
In a recent letter Justice Alito strongly rejected requests from Democratic Senators Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Dick Durbin of Illinois to recuse himself from Trump v. United States and all litigation related to January 6th.
“[Martha-Ann] “She did not raise the flag to identify with that group or any other group, and the fact that a new group uses an older, historic flag does not necessarily erase all of the flag’s other meanings,” Alito wrote.
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“Any reasonable person not motivated by political or ideological considerations or a desire to influence the Supreme Court’s decision would conclude that what happens does not meet the criteria for recusal. I am therefore obligated to reject the request for recusal,” he added.
Fox News’ Shannon Bream contributed to this report..
