When news broke late last month that Justice Samuel Alito had an "Appeal to Heaven" flag flying over his New Jersey vacation home, alarm bells went off in the press for two reasons. First, this was the second flag associated with the January 6 insurrection that had been spotted gracing the property of the infamous Supreme Court justice. It also suggested that the Alito family (he's blaming his wife) is extremely invested in the semiotics of American fascism. Or, put another way, the "Appeal to Heaven" flag, which features a pine tree on a white background, is a MAGA deep cut. Even many experts on 21st-century authoritarianism have barely heard of it. To not only know this flag but to own it? It's the far-right equivalent of being a Phish fan who owns every demo and live recording.
As Lindsay Beyerstein explained for Salon, "the banner is the calling card of a Christian supremacist movement seeking to impose theocracy on America." Ironically, the flag was initially commissioned for General George Washington, to symbolize resistance against tyrants who oppose democracy. In the hands of the January 6 insurrectionists who waved it, however, it symbolized the opposite: A belief that secular democracy must be destroyed, so that Christian nationalism may reign over the United States. As a spokesperson for San Francisco, which recently took down an "Appeal to Heaven" flag flown in front of city hall, said, "It's since been adopted by a different group — one that doesn't represent the city's values."
