The court’s security chief says threatening behavior outside of the houses of justices, which began after the draft abortion decision leaked, has only gotten worse since the Dobbs opinion was formally issued.
The court’s security chief says threatening behavior outside of the houses of justices, which began after the draft abortion decision leaked, has only gotten worse since the Dobbs opinion was formally issued.
The Supreme Court’s marshal, Gail Curley, has written a letter to the governors of Maryland and Virginia and officials in Washington DC asking them to enforce local laws that prohibit picketing at private homes, according to NBC News.
Curley’s letter states that in just the past week, 75 demonstrators “loudly picketed at one justice’s home in Maryland for 20-30 minutes in the evening, then proceeded to picket at another justice’s home for 30 minutes, where the crowd grew to 100, and finally returned to the first justice’s home to picket for another 20 minutes.”
The marshal sent letters to the governors of Maryland and Virginia, both Republicans, and officials of the counties that the justices’ homes reside in.
In a statement Saturday, Governor Larry Hogan’s office said the Maryland Attorney General’s office has questioned the constitutionality of the state’s anti-picketing law and said it was the Justice Department’s responsibility to enforce federal laws that would stop the demonstrators.
“In light of the continued refusal by multiple federal entities to act, the governor has directed Maryland state police to further review enforcement options that respect the First Amendment and the Constitution,” said Michael Ricci, Hogan’s communications director.
Similarly, Governor Glenn Youngkin’s office said in a statement that the Virginia governor “welcomes the Marshal of the Supreme Court’s request for Fairfax County to enforce state law as they are the primary enforcement authority for the state statute,” but alluded to the need for federal officials to take responsibility.
The statement added that Youngkin is calling on Attorney General Merrick Garland to enforce any federal laws on the matter.