DOJ orders US Marshals to protect Supreme Court justices amid protests outside homes The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 10, 2020. (Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA/TNS)
On Wednesday, the Justice Department directed the U.S. Marshals Service to “help ensure” the safety of Supreme Court justices as pro-abortion demonstrators continue protesting outside their private homes in response to a leaked draft opinion revealing plans to overturn Roe v. Wade.
“Attorney General Garland continues to be briefed on security matters related to the Supreme Court and Supreme Court Justices. The Attorney General directed the U.S. Marshals Service to help ensure the Justices’ safety by providing additional support to the Marshal of the Supreme Court and Supreme Court Police,” the department said in a statement.
In the leaked draft opinion, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start.”
“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” he continued. “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”
Mobs of protesters gathered outside the homes of Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh and John Roberts over the weekend after their private addresses were posted online. Protesters also surrounded the home of Justice Alito a day later. Demonstrations also formed outside of Catholic churches, including the Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral in Manhattan. In one video of a protest, a pro-abortion activist can be heard shouting, “I’m killing the babies!” while waving dolls near a pro-life group praying.
“I’m killing the babies”
A protester held a bundle of baby dolls as she led a protest at the doors of the Basilica of St Patrick's Old Cathedral in Manhattan, NYC. She was blocked from going inside by a group of praying men. Vid posted by @ScooterCasterNY:pic.twitter.com/uIaFXBJpxR— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) May 7, 2022
Last week, White House press secretary Jen Psaki refused to condemn the demonstrators gathered outside the justices’ private homes, the New York Post reported.
“Do you think that progressive activists that are now planning protests outside some of the justices’ houses are extreme?” Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy asked at the time.
“Peaceful protest? No, peaceful protest is not extreme,” Psaki replied.
“Some of these justices have young kids,” Doocy added. “Their neighbors are not all public figures. So would the president think about waving off activists who want to go into residential neighborhoods in Virginia and Maryland?”
Psaki responded, “I think our view here is that peaceful protests — there’s a long history in the United States in the country of that. And we’ve certainly encouraged people to keep it peaceful and not resort to any level of violence.”
Doocy noted that pro-abortion activists had doxed the justices, posting a map of their home addresses online.
“The president’s view is that there’s a lot of passion, a lot of fear, a lot of sadness from many, many people across this country about what they saw in that leaked document,” Psaki said. “We obviously want people’s privacy to be respected. We want people to protest peacefully if they want to protest. That is certainly what the president’s view would be.”
