U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is facing scrutiny after reports emerged of a provocative flag associated with Trump supporters being flown at one of his homes for the second time in two weeks. This time, the flag was spotted at his vacation house in New Jersey. The flag in question is known as the 'appeal to heaven' flag, which has historical roots dating back to the Revolutionary War but has more recently been adopted as a symbol by supporters of former President Donald Trump.
Neighbors at Alito's Long Beach Island home in New Jersey have reportedly spoken to the New York Times about the flag. This comes shortly after a separate incident where an inverted American flag, linked to the Stop the Steal movement, was seen at Alito's Virginia residence.
Justice Alito has not responded to the latest reports regarding the flag at his New Jersey home. Previously, he explained that the inverted flag at his Virginia home was placed there by his wife following a dispute with neighbors and was not meant as a political statement.
Concerns have been raised about Alito's impartiality on the Supreme Court, especially in cases related to the January 6th Capitol riot. Calls for his recusal from such cases have been made by Democrats, but Alito has not commented on these requests.
While some view the flags flown at Alito's homes as politically charged symbols, others, including former National Security Advisor John Bolton, argue that the use of patriotic flags should not be politicized. Bolton criticized the rush to criticize Alito and emphasized that flying historical American flags should not automatically be linked to specific political movements.
Despite the controversy surrounding the flags, Bolton and others believe that Alito should not recuse himself from cases based on these incidents. They argue that the flags do not necessarily indicate support for specific political ideologies and should not be used to question Alito's ability to serve impartially on the Supreme Court.
