The neighbor linked to Justice Samuel Alito's upside-down flag controversy told the Guardian that she believes Alito used his security detail to intimidate her for her anti-Trump lawn signs following the 2020 election.
After her conflict regarding the signs with the justice's conservative, Donald Trump-supporting wife, Martha-Ann Alito, in 2021 a large black sedan that was part of Alito's secruity detail began parking in front of Emily Baden's mother's home in the neighborhood, where Baden then lived, she told the newspaper.
She believed whoever was behind the darkly tinted windows was keeping watch on her and her family.
"This happened a handful of times," Baden told the Guardian. "I took that as directly threatening."
Baden and her husband reported that the car again showed up in front of Baden's mother's house after the New York Times broke the story about the controversial upside-down American flag hanging from the Alitos' flagpole at the couple's home in Alexandria, Virginia, before Joe Biden's inauguration. The flag is a symbol of support for the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection that aimed to toss out presidential election results and replace Biden with donald Trump.
Alito, who is expected to function as an impartial Supreme Court justice, has said his wife flew the flag from their home and that he knew nothing about it.
He told the Times his wife raised the flag in response to a "neighbor's use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs," which he did not detail.
Baden found the pushback onerous.
She believes the implied threat from the hovering black car was: "We could do terrible things to you, and nobody would be able to do anything about it. When it comes to justices at the Supreme Court, they make the laws, but the laws don't apply to them."
The Alitos could not be reached for comment.
Lawmakers citing ethical breaches have pushed Justice Alito to recuse himself from cases concerning illegal attempts to overturn the presidential vote, including deciding Trump's claim of absolute immunity from election subversion charges. They cited the upside-down flag and a religious flag flown at the Alitos' vacation home that's also linked to Trump's MAGA movement.
Alito refused to comply with the lawmakers' demand in a letter Wednesday, saying he was "duty-bound to reject your recusal request."
