Roe v Wade Protests Move to Homes of Supreme Court Justices
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Pro-choice protests in the wake of the Roe v Wade leak moved to the homes of three conservative Supreme Court justices in the past few days.
Protesters gathered outside the homes of Justices Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh over the weekend, and at Justice Samuel Alito's home on Monday. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that the White House will "continue to encourage" peaceful protests, and criticized "voices on the right who have called out these protests that are happening while remaining silent" on protests at the homes of school board members or the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Section 1507 of the federal criminal code bans protesting at judge's homes with the intent of obstructing the administration of justice or influencing the decision. In a show of bipartisanship, a bill to grant extra security for the justices' families unanimously passed the Senate Monday. New polling data from Trafalgar Group suggests that over 75% of voters think protesting at the homes of Supreme Court justices is unacceptable.
Sources across the spectrum highlighted the protests and the Senate vote. Many reports from the right highlighted Section 1507 and Psaki's comments, and framed the Biden administration's response as weak and politicized. Some voices on all sides, especially the right but also the left and center, condemned the protests as an illegal, poor approach to the issue. Conversely, one writer for MSNBC argued that an "increasingly mobilized population furious about being disenfranchised" was justified in protesting at the homes of justices.
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