Headline RoundupMay 23rd, 2024
Supreme Court, January 6, Capitol Chaos, Samuel Alito, Politics
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is facing controversy over two flags flown at his personal residence. What do the flags represent, and was it wrong for a justice to display them?
What Do the Flags Represent? The Washington Examiner (Lean Right bias) determined the upside-down American flag originally served to indicate distress or danger and was later used as a symbol of protest, primarily used by “liberal, pacifist, environmentalist, and minority activists.” In 2020, “Trump supporters began adopting the flag, primarily at ‘Stop the Steal’ rallies alleging election fraud.” The “Appeal to Heaven” flag was a primary flag flown during the Revolutionary War that later became “popular among Christians and Republicans.” The article concluded this flag was “flown by several of those present at the Jan. 6 riot, but it doesn’t appear to have played an outsize role.”
Why Did Alito Fly Them? A writer in MSNBC (Left bias) argued Alito’s response to the controversy is “befitting for a public servant who clearly believes he has no responsibility to the public.” The writer determined that “Alito surely knows now the significance of the upside-down flag and its symbolic importance to Trump and his supporters.” Given this, the writer asked, “So here’s the question for Alito: why not apologize? Even if Alito believes he did nothing wrong, why not simply say he’s sorry if people drew the wrong impression from the upside-down flag? The answer is not difficult to discern: He does not care.”
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Samuel Alito’s child-like petulance would almost be amusing — except for one thing
MSNBC See rating detailsOpinion
On Thursday, The New York Times reported that 11 days after the Jan. 6 insurrection and three days before Joe Biden’s inauguration, an upside-down flag was seen flying outside Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s home. This act is usually a symbol of distress, but after the 2020 election it became a form of political protest for many Trump supporters to signal their belief that the vote had been stolen from the soon-to-be former president.
Alito’s explanation for the upside-down flag on his property has been, how shall we say, creative....
From the Center
Democrats renew calls for US Supreme Court's Alito to recuse amid flag flap
Reuters See rating details
Erin Schaff/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
News
Democrats intensified their calls on Thursday for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to step aside in two cases - one on Donald Trump's bid for immunity from prosecution and the other on a charge involving the Capitol attack - after a media report that another provocative flag flew outside one of his homes.
A flag bearing the phrase "Appeal to Heaven" flew outside Alito's vacation home on Long Beach Island, New Jersey, in July and September of 2023, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing photographs and interviews....
From the Right
What are the flags Alito is under fire for?
Washington Examiner See rating details
AP Photo/Ted Powers
Analysis
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has come under intense pressure from Democrats for the flying of two flags at his residences.
He first came under fire after an upside-down American flag was spotted at his home in Virginia. Days later, reports about him flying an “An Appeal to Heaven” flag over his vacation home reignited calls for his recusal from various Jan. 6-related cases before the court. Critics claimed the flags are symbols of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and far-right extremists.
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