Justice Alito thinks he can take away our rights. But our rights are fundamentally ours. We're showing up to tell him in person. #BansOffOurBodies #AbortionIsHealthCare #AbortionIsEssential pic.twitter.com/zY69Ehmqq1Pro-abortion protesters marched into the neighborhood of Justice Samuel Alito on Monday evening in protest of the leaked opinion he authored to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The protest was organized by DC-based Antifa group Shut Down DC, who collected names and information on everyone attending through an RSVP list.
— ShutDownDC (@ShutDown_DC) May 6, 2022
Approximately 100 people were involved in the protest, which took place in a quiet upscale Virginia neighborhood.
The activists repeated "pro-life is a lie, you don't care if people die," "Alito is a coward," "abort the court," and "if we don't get it [justice] shut it down" — among other, more crass, chants. Alito is a coward! #KickRocksAlito #BansOffOurBodies pic.twitter.com/5vMEY9T9km LIVE Protesters march to home of Justice Alito https://t.co/dJ551exz9U
— FederalFelonMouse (she/her) (@LiteraryMouse) May 10, 2022
— Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) May 9, 2022
The group claimed on Twitter that they received "lots of thumbs up" from Justice Alito's neighbors and that some even joined the protest. A bunch of Alito’s neighbors (maybe around 12) joined us as well. #BansOffOurBodies #KickRocksAlito https://t.co/TkyxB9r2H9 Here for the protest in front of Supreme Court Justice Alito’s house.
— FederalFelonMouse (she/her) (@LiteraryMouse) May 10, 2022
When abortion rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back! #BansOffOurBodies pic.twitter.com/2pRy3nJlg2
— FederalFelonMouse (she/her) (@LiteraryMouse) May 9, 2022 In which the crowd tells Alito to fuck off. #KickRocksAlito #BansOffOurBodies pic.twitter.com/dMVhSSRHs4
— FederalFelonMouse (she/her) (@LiteraryMouse) May 10, 2022
The lights were on outside Justice Alito's home, though there have been unconfirmed rumors that he and his family have been moved to an "undisclosed location" for their safety. While it is possible that they have been moved, it appears to have been a Twitter rumor that spread out of control and made it into the media.
The protest appeared to wrap up peacefully with no reported arrests.
As Timcast previously reported, pro-abortion activists also gathered outside the homes of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh on Saturday evening.
Two attorneys who specialize in the First Amendment told Timcast that they believe the protests are in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1507, which prohibits "pickets or parades in or near a building housing a court of the United States, or in or near a building or residence occupied or used by such judge, juror, witness, or court officer" are prohibited when done with the intent "of interfering with, obstructing, or impeding the administration of justice."
"If there's a loophole, it's the big one - the First Amendment. But not likely. Time, place and manner restrictions on speech are constitutional when they're reasonable. What's unreasonable about these?" First Amendment expert and attorney Ron Coleman asked.
The max penalty for the protest at the homes of the justices appears to be one year in jail, a misdemeanor.
Despite the residential protests being a seemingly clear-cut violation of federal laws, the White House refused to condemn the activists or urge them to choose another location when pressed about it last week.
"These activists posted a map with the home addresses of the Supreme Court justices. Is that the kind of thing this president wants to help your side make their point?" Fox News reporter Peter Doocy asked during a White House press briefing on May 5.
"I think the president's view is that there's a lot of passion, a lot of fear, a lot of sadness from many, many people across this country about what they saw in that leaked document," Psaki responded. "We obviously want people's privacy to be respected. We want people to protest peacefully if they want to protest. That is certainly what the president's view would be."
The White House has since walked that back, at least a little bit.
"[President Joe Biden] strongly believes in the Constitutional right to protest," press secretary Jen Psaki tweeted on Monday. "But that should never include violence, threats, or vandalism. Judges perform an incredibly important function in our society, and they must be able to do their jobs without concern for their personal safety."
The protests are in response to a draft opinion showing that the Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, which was leaked to Politico.
“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the document labeled, “Opinion of the Court.” “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”
According to Politico, "the three Democratic-appointed justices – Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan – are working on one or more dissents," it added that "How Chief Justice John Roberts will ultimately vote, and whether he will join an already written opinion or draft his own, is unclear."
Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett voted with Alito — per the report.