Samuel Alito's Flag Claims Challenged

S E E D E D   C O N T E N T

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's claims that his wife flew an upside-down U.S. flag outside their home in response to a clash with neighbors has been brought into question.

Alito came under fire this month following reports that the inverted flag was flown from his house in January 2021 after it had become the symbol of the "Stop the Steal" campaign, which aimed to overturn President Joe Biden's 2020 election win.

Alito told The New York Times that he had "no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag," saying his wife "briefly" put up the inverted flag "in response to a neighbor's use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs."

Justice Samuel Alito at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., in 2021. Alito's claims that his wife flew an upside-down U.S. flag outside their home in response to a clash with neighbors has been...Justice Samuel Alito at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., in 2021. Alito's claims that his wife flew an upside-down U.S. flag outside their home in response to a clash with neighbors has been brought into question. More Photo by Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty Images

Martha-Ann Alito reportedly hung the flag upside down after she was "distraught" over words exchanged with her neighbors, including vulgar insults.

But The New York Times has reported that the name-calling took place on February 15, weeks after the flag was taken down. This is according to the newspaper's analysis of a text message and a police recording, corroborated by authorities in Fairfax County, Virginia.

When Fox News journalist Shannon Bream posted about the Alitos' story after interviewing the justice, she wrote: "Justice Alito says he and his wife were walking in the neighborhood and there were words between Mrs. Alito and a male at the home with the sign. Alito says the man used vulgar language.

"Following that exchange, Mrs. Alito was distraught and hung the flag upside down 'for a short time'. Justice Alito says some neighbors on his street are 'very political' and acknowledges it was a very heated time in January 2021."

The neighbor, Emily Baden, said she would "fully cop" to using the "C-word" toward Mrs. Alito, saying it was her and not her husband who spewed the insult.

She said it happened on February 15, when Mrs. Alito and her husband walked past the couple pulling in trash bins and called them "fascists" in Alexandria.

Baden said she also accused the Alitos of "harassing them over signs" and told Justice Alito that he "represents the highest court in the land."

The Badens called police and recorded the conversation to document the incident. They were told officers could not do much "after it's already settled."

It was supposedly this interaction that upset Mrs. Alito so much that she hung the inverted flag, but the flag was photographed by The Times on January 17, just under a month earlier.

The Washington Post reported that Mrs. Alito told one of its reporters in January that it was "a sign of distress." She also said it was in response to a dispute with neighbors.

Justice Alito is facing calls to recuse himself from cases related to the 2020 election and the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries previously said: "Samuel Alito should apologize immediately for disrespecting the American flag and sympathizing with right-wing violent insurrectionists. He must recuse himself from cases involving the 2020 election and former President Donald Trump."

Newsweek has tried to contact Justice Alito for comment by emailing the Supreme Court's Public Information Office.