An American flag was photographed hanging upside down at the Virginia home of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in January 2021, weeks after the Jan. 6 protests, the New York Times reported on Thursday.
The revelation comes at a time when the nation is still reeling from the aftermath of the Capitol riot and amid heightened tensions over the integrity of the 2020 presidential election.
According to reports, the upside-down flag was photographed at Alito’s home in Alexandria, Virginia on Jan. 17, 2021, by neighbors who were alarmed by the symbolism. The Times said it recently obtained those images and included one in its report.
Alito is a New Jersey native who was born in Trenton, raised in Hamilton Township, and educated at Princeton University. After graduating from Yale Law School, he worked as an assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel and served as the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey.
In 1990, Alito was appointed as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, where he served until joining the Supreme Court. Alito resided with his family in West Caldwell, New Jersey, before his Supreme Court nomination.
In response to inquiries from the Times, Justice Alito clarified that he had no involvement in the display of the flag. He stated that it was briefly placed by his wife, Martha-Ann Alito, in response to what he described as “objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs” displayed by a neighbor.
The timing of the flag’s display is noteworthy, coming just days before President Joe Biden’s inauguration and shortly after the violent siege of the Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump. The riot, which resulted in multiple deaths and widespread damage, was fueled by false claims of election fraud propagated by Trump and his allies.
While Justice Alito’s explanation attributes the flag’s presence to a personal dispute with a neighbor, the display raises concerns about the appearance of impartiality, particularly in light of the Supreme Court’s upcoming decisions on cases related to the Capitol riot and the 2020 election.
Legal experts interviewed by the Times emphasized that the display of the upside-down flag could be viewed as a violation of judicial ethics, which mandate that judges avoid even the appearance of bias in their conduct.
The symbolism of the upside-down flag is significant. Historically, it has been used as a signal of distress or emergency, but in recent years, it has increasingly been employed as a political protest symbol.
According to the U.S. code, the American flag should never be displayed upside down “except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.”
During the tumultuous aftermath of the 2020 election, many Trump supporters adopted the upside-down flag as a sign of defiance against what they perceived as a stolen election.
The controversy surrounding Justice Alito’s upside-down flag comes amidst broader concerns about the perceived politicization of the judiciary and the Supreme Court in particular. With public confidence in the impartiality of the court already strained, the incident is likely to fuel further debate about the role of justices in partisan disputes and their adherence to ethical standards.
As the Supreme Court prepares to rule on critical cases related to the Capitol riot and the 2020 election, the optics of Justice Alito’s involvement in these matters may come under heightened scrutiny. While the justice maintains that he had no direct involvement in the flag’s display, questions about judicial impartiality and the appearance of bias persist.
The Supreme Court has not yet responded to requests for comment on the matter, but as the controversy unfolds, it underscores the delicate balance between the judiciary’s duty to uphold the rule of law and its obligation to maintain public trust and confidence in the integrity of the legal system.