A Fairfax County, Virginia, couple claims the worst in a series of ugly encounters with Martha-Ann Alito, wife of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, happened after an upside-down flag was flown outside the judge’s home, not before , as the court said.
Earlier this month, the New York Times reported that Alito’s family raised an inverted flag, which symbolizes the “Stop the Steal” campaign, in January 2021. Alito said the flag was raised by his wife in a dispute with neighbors .
The Times then reported that a second flag associated with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and a Christian nationalist movement was flown at his New Jersey vacation home in July and September 2023.
Alito was heavily criticized following the reports. Democrats are calling on him to recuse himself from cases related to January 6 and former President Trump.
Alito did not comment on the second flag.
The Times reported that neighbor Emily Baden and her then-boyfriend, who was not identified by the outlet, and Martha-Ann Alito engaged in vulgar insults over political differences. But Baden, who lived with her mother, Barbara Baden, provided a different timeline than Alito’s and said she did not see the flag inverted.
O Times found that a phone call from Baden’s then-boyfriend to local police was made on February 15, 2021, weeks after the flag was taken down, about the dispute.
Alito said the dispute began when a neighbor placed an anti-Trump sign in his yard in January 2021.
Martha-Ann Alito complained to her neighbor and the situation got worse. Alito said a neighbor called his wife the “C word,” and after the exchange, his distraught wife hung the flag.
According to the Badens, Martha-Ann Alito started the conflict.
“Other than posting signage, we did not initiate or instigate any of these confrontations,” Baden told the Times.
After the 2020 presidential election was called for President Biden, Baden posted homemade signs outside his home that read “Bye Don” and “F— Trump.”
After the Jan. 6 riots, Baden and his partner put up signs that said “Trump is a fascist” and “you are complicit.” Baden said the second signal was not directed at Alito, but at Republicans in general, who did not condemn the attack.
On January 17, 2021, the flag was raised outside Alito’s home, but Baden said he never saw it. On the day of Biden’s inauguration, Baden said Matha-Ann Alito ran toward their car and spat as they drove by.
In mid-February, the Alitos were out for a walk when Martha-Ann Alito approached Baden and her partner and told them they were fascists. Samuel Alito was quiet, but Baden said she talked back to the couple.
She told the Times that she remembers saying something like “how dare you behave this way. You have been harassing us for signs. You represent the highest court in the land. Shame on you.”
Baden said he will “completely” accept that he called Martha-Ann Alito the obscene expression Alito referred to but attributed to his partner. Baden’s partner then called the police to document the encounter.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
