An analyst has said the hanging of an upside-down United States flag outside the home of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is "absolutely indefensible."
Alito, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush in 2005 and assumed office in January 2006, is reported to have hung the U.S. flag outside his home on January 17, 2021, closely following the insurrection by Donald Trump supporters at the Capitol in Washington D.C. The inverted flag is a symbol that has become widely associated with the supporters of Trump's unfounded claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
"I had no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag," Alito said in a statement to the New York Times, which first reported the incident on Thursday, May 16. "It was briefly placed by Mrs. [Martha-Ann] Alito in response to a neighbor's use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs."
Newsweek has contacted the U.S. Supreme Court for comment via email outside of normal working hours.
Under the U.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."
The issue was discussed on the Talking Feds podcast, which brings together prominent former government officials, journalists, and other guests to talk about current affairs. Host Harry Litman, a lawyer and political commentator, said that the flying of the flag outside Alito's Virginia home is "actually announcing a position" when Supreme Court justices are meant to remain independent and avoid making political statements.
Litman said that if Alito had knowledge of the flag being hung in such a way, it "would be a Supreme Court justice expressing sides that are on a factual level just a lie." He also said the suggestion that a "steal" took place in the 2020 presidential election is an "absolute treachery to confidence in democracy that no one of any position of influence should be taking in this country."
Following the election of President Joe Biden in November 2020, right-wing groups alleged the election result was incorrect and insisted Trump was the rightful winner.
The Alito incident has sparked considerable backlash, particularly given that a Supreme Court decision on the extent of presidential immunity that will affect at least one of Trump's pending prosecutions. The former president was indicted in August 2023 on four counts, arising from Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into the January 6, 2021, events at the Capitol.
On X, formerly Twitter, Litman continued his criticism. He said the use of the upside-down flag was an "endorsement of an Orwellian fiction", and that "if Justice Alito had no knowledge whatsoever that it was displayed at his home for apparently several days, that's one thing, though odd. If he knew, however, (whether or not he did it), it's an inexcusable outrage."
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre declined to comment on behalf of the president when asked by reporters about the NYT report on Saturday.
"What I can say more broadly is that the president believes that the American flag is sacred—you've heard him say that—and is owed proper respect and honor of the brave men and women who have defended our country for generations," she said according to a transcript seen by Newsweek.
"And we should be respecting that flag. We should be making sure that it is respected in that way. It is sacred. As for anything else, the conduct or recusing himself, that is something for the court to decide."
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Aliss Higham is a Newsweek reporter based in Glasgow, Scotland. Her focus is reporting on issues across the U.S., including ... Read more
