Two symbols used during the 2021 Capitol insurrection were floated on the grounds of a U.S. Supreme Court justice. Calls for the magistrate’s recusal in cases linked to the attack were not long in coming.
What happened ?
Photos taken on January 17, 2021 in front of the residence of conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito show an upside-down American flag, a sign of political protest. The magistrate said he had nothing to do with the gesture, explaining that an argument with neighbors had led his wife to hoist the banner upside down.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE NEW YORK TIMES
An upside-down American flag flies outside Justice Samuel Alito’s residence in Alexandria, Virginia, in January 2021.
Wednesday, the New York Times published new photos, this time taken in July and September 2023 at the judge’s second home. A white flag adorned with a green pine bearing the inscription “A Call to Heaven” fluttered in the wind.
What is the meaning of this flag?
It is considered a conservative symbol, used in particular by a pro-Trump fringe to promote the nation’s Christian identity.
PHOTO MICHAEL PEREZ, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Donald Trump supporters wave the “An Appeal to Heaven” flag at a 2020 rally.
Michael Altman, professor at the University of Alabama, studied the use of different symbols during the January 6, 2021 insurrection for a project in collaboration with the Smithsonian Museum of American History, to document the role of religion in the insurrection.
He noticed the presence of the pine flag in the crowd – without being the most common image.
The standard appeared during the American Revolution. The “call to heaven” is not a biblical passage, but a quote from John Locke. This 17th century English philosophere century advocated… religious freedom and the separation of Church and State. “I don’t know to what extent those who use it know that,” wonders Mr. Altman, contacted by The Press on the phone.
The flag was repopularized by the Tea Party in the 2010s.
“Many political conservatives and religious conservatives have drawn on the symbols of the revolutionary era,” explains the professor, emphasizing that symbols evolve and can have different meanings depending on groups and eras.
Why did this create controversy?
Supreme Court judges will have to decide on divisive issues in the coming months. For example, they will have to rule on the use of a law which was used to prosecute Donald Trump and hundreds of rioters who participated in the assault on the Capitol.
However, the photos published in the American media cast doubt on Justice Alito’s ability to evaluate the elements impartially.
“It is the very fact of being so attached to one’s opinions – that one not only holds them, but puts them outright on a flagpole – that gives a good indication that one does not will not question, that we will not put our views aside”, explains to The Press ethics specialist Charles Geyh, professor at the Maurer School of Law at Indiana University.
Aren’t American judges known for their orientations?
In the United States, judges can be elected or appointed, depending on the type of court. Supreme Court justices are chosen by the president, but must obtain the support of a majority of the members of the Senate. When we identify a judge as conservative or progressive, it is in relation to legal opinions and decisions. Not on political orientations.
We expect judges to do their best to keep their opinions at bay – and I think many succeed most of the time. If the laws are clear enough, even if they don’t like them, judges will apply them.
Charles Geyh, professor at Indiana University Maurer School of Law
Faced with criticism, revelations about undisclosed gifts and the very low level of public confidence, the Supreme Court adopted its first code of ethics in November, but it does not provide for sanctions.
What were the reactions?
Justice Alito and the Supreme Court have not commented. Democratic elected officials denounced the apparent bias of the judge and Republican elected officials considered that it was a “bad decision”.
The “call to heaven” flag remains popular among some elected Republicans, such as the leader of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson. The symbol is also installed in front of his office, but Mr. Johnson defended himself to CNN of the association made between this standard and the “Stop the steal” movement, which rejects the defeat of Donald Trump in 2020. “C “It’s a flag of George Washington,” he told the American channel. It dates from the time of the founders. »
“There is a cult of the Founding Fathers and the revolutionary period that dominates in conservative intellectual circles, mainly on the idea of government and the Supreme Court,” underlines Mr. Altman. And that’s where Alito comes from. »
With CNN and the New York Times