Katherine Clark blasts Justice Alito for flags flown at his properties

Representative Katherine Clark called on Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito to recuse himself from cases related to the Capitol insurrection after a New York Times investigation revealed flags carried by rioters on Jan. 6, 2021, displayed at two of his properties.

“Justice Alito has displayed flags at his homes that support insurrection against our government, promote religious nationalism, and attack free and fair elections,” Clark, a Democrat representing Massachusetts’s 5th Congressional District, wrote in a post on X. Clark is also the House Minority Whip, the second-highest ranking House Democrat. 

Alito has been facing increasing scrutiny after photos surfaced last week showing an upside down American flag flying at his house in Alexandria, Va. in January 2021, three days before the inauguration of President Joe Biden. The photos were first reported by the Times May 16.

The upside down U.S. flag became a rallying symbol for supporters of former President Donald Trump who falsely claimed the 2020 election was stolen. It was a common sight at the Jan. 6, capitol riot, which happened a little over a week before the flag was flown at Alito’s house. 

Another controversial flag flown at Alito’s New Jersey home, Times reports

On Wednesday, criticism against the justice grew when the Times reported that an “Appeal to Heaven” flag, also carried by rioters on Jan. 6, was displayed at Alito’s vacation house in New Jersey last summer. The flag, originally used during the Revolutionary War, has been co-opted as a sign of support for Trump and is a symbol of the “Stop the Steal” campaign, the Times reported. 

In her statement Thursday, Clark called on Alito to recuse himself from cases involving “January 6th, Donald Trump, and the security of our elections.”

“This is not just another example of extremism that has overtaken conservatism,” Clark wrote. “This is a threat to the rule of law and a serious breach of ethics, integrity, and Justice Alito’s oath of office.”

At the time the upside down flag was flown, the Supreme Court was deciding whether to hear the 2020 election case, the Times reported. Now, the Court is poised to hand down a decision at the end of June on whether Trump can be prosecuted over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. 

Though Alito did not respond to the Times’ request for comment about the “Appeal to Heaven” flag, the justice said the upside down U.S. flag was raised by his wife. 

“I had no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag,” Alito told the Times. “It was briefly placed by Mrs. Alito in response to a neighbor’s use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs.”

Other Mass. reps have spoken out against Alito

On Tuesday, over three dozen House representatives sent a letter to Alito asking him to recuse himself from cases that involved Jan. 6 or the 2020 election, citing the Times’ reporting. Rep. Ayanna Pressley was among the signees.

Sen. Ed Markey also called on Alito to recuse himself in a post on X Thursday. 

“Justice Alito must recuse himself from anything related to the January 6th insurrection and we must expand the Court to ensure that Donald Trump’s stolen seats don’t dismantle our democracy,” Markey wrote. 

Critics have said that the flags flown at Alito’s houses are a sign of bias and a violation of the Court’s ethics guidelines. The Supreme Court’s Code of Conduct states that justices must “avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety” and recuse themselves when “impartiality might be reasonably questioned.”