Samuel Alito’s wife claimed upside-down flag was ‘international sign of distress’

Senate Democrats are demanding answers as to why Samuel Alito and his wife, Martha-Ann, flew insurrectionist-linked flags outside their homes. Photograph: Pablo Martínez Monsiváis/AP

The wife of US supreme court justice Samuel Alito reportedly justified the display of an upside-down American flag at the couple’s home by saying it was “an international signal of distress”, as senior Democrats have requested a meeting with the chief justice over the growing scandal.

Martha-Ann Alito made the comments to a Washington Post reporter, the outlet reported on Saturday, when the journalist visited the couple’s Virginia home in January 2021, not long after the attack on the US Capitol by extremist supporters of Donald Trump.