WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is embroiled in a second flag controversy in as many weeks, this time over a banner that in recent years has come to symbolize sympathies with the Christian nationalist movement and the false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
An 鈥淎ppeal to Heaven鈥 flag was flown last summer outside Alito鈥檚 beach vacation home in New Jersey, according to The New York Times, which obtained several images showing it on different dates in July and September 2023. The Times previously reported that 鈥 a sign of distress 鈥 had flown outside Alito's Alexandria, Virginia, home less than two weeks after the violent by supporters of former President Donald Trump.
Some of the rioters carried the inverted American flag or the 鈥淎ppeal to Heaven鈥 flag, which shows a green pine tree on a white field. The revelations have escalated concerns over Alito's impartiality and his ability to objectively decide cases currently before the court that relate to the Jan. 6 attackers and Trump's attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Alito has not commented on the flag at his summer home.
Here is the history and current symbolism of the 鈥淎ppeal to Heaven鈥 flag.
WHAT ARE ITS ORIGINS?
Ted Kaye, secretary for the , which studies flags and their meaning, said the 鈥淎ppeal to Heaven鈥 banner dates to the Revolutionary War.
Six schooners outfitted by George Washington to intercept British vessels at sea flew the flag in 1775 as they sailed under his command. It became the maritime flag of Massachusetts in 1776 and remained so until 1971, he said.
According to the pine tree on the flag symbolized strength and resilience in the New England colonies while the words “Appeal to Heaven” stemmed from the belief that God would deliver the colonists from tyranny.
HOW HAS ITS SYMBOLISM CHANGED?
There are a few different reasons people fly 鈥淎ppeal to Heaven鈥 flags today, said Jared Holt, a senior analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a London-based think tank that tracks online hate, disinformation and extremism.
Some fans of it identify with a 鈥減atriot鈥 movement that obsesses over the Founding Fathers and the American Revolution, he said. Others adhere to a Christian nationalist worldview that seeks to elevate Christianity in public life.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not abundantly clear which of those reasons would be accurate鈥 in this situation, Holt said. But he called the display outside Alito鈥檚 home 鈥渁larming,鈥 saying those who do fly the flag are often advocating for 鈥渕ore intolerant and restrictive forms of government aligned with a specific religious philosophy.鈥
The 鈥淎ppeal to Heaven鈥 flag was among several banners carried by the Jan. 6 rioters, who also favored religious banners symbolizing the white Christian nationalist movement., the Confederate flag and the yellow with its rattlesnake and 鈥淒on鈥檛 Tread on Me鈥 message, said Bradley Onishi, author of 鈥淧reparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian 香港六合彩挂牌资料ism.鈥
"That鈥檚 the family,鈥 he said.
WHAT ABOUT MIKE JOHNSON?
House Speaker Mike Johnson displays the flag in the hallway outside his office next to the flag of his home state, Louisiana. He said he has flown it 鈥渇or as long as I can remember.鈥
Johnson, a Republican, told The Associated Press he did not know the flag had come to represent the 鈥淪top the Steal鈥 movement.
鈥淣ever heard that before,鈥 he said.
The speaker, who to the 2020 election, defended the flag and its continued use despite the modern-day symbolism around it.
鈥淚 have always used that flag for as long as I can remember, because I was so enamored with the fact that Washington used it,鈥 Johnson said. 鈥淭he Appeal to Heaven flag is a critical, important part of American history. It鈥檚 something that I鈥檝e always revered since I鈥檝e been a young man.鈥
He added: 鈥淧eople misuse our symbols all the time. It doesn鈥檛 mean we don鈥檛 use the symbols anymore.鈥
Johnson said he had never flown the U.S. flag upside in distress, as Alito did, and he declined to assess the justice鈥檚 situation and whether raising the flags at his home was appropriate.
But he called the criticism of the 鈥淎ppeal to Heaven鈥 flag 鈥渃ontrived.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 nonsense,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 part of our history. We don鈥檛 remove statues and we don鈥檛 cover up things that are so essential to who we are as a country.鈥
SHOULD ALITO RECUSE?
House Democratic Whip, Katherine Clark of Massachusetts said in a statement that the display of the 鈥淎ppeal to Heaven鈥 flag at an Alito home was 鈥渘ot just another example of extremism that has overtaken conservatism. This is a threat to the rule of law and a serious breach of ethics, integrity and Justice Alito鈥檚 oath of office.鈥
She called for Alito to recuse himself from any cases related to and
There's a clear difference between the House speaker displaying the flag outside his office and a Supreme Court justice flying it and the upside down American flag outside his homes as the court is deciding cases involving issues those flags have come to symbolize, said Alicia Bannon director of the Judiciary Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University.
Alito's actions don鈥檛 鈥渏ust cross the line," she said. "They take you out of the stadium and out of the parking lot.鈥
Alito and the court declined to respond to requests for comment on how the 鈥淎ppeal to Heaven鈥 flag came to be flying and what it was intended to express.
Alito has said the upside down American flag was briefly flown by his wife during a dispute with neighbors and that he had no part in it.
ANOTHER BLOW TO THE COURT鈥橲 REPUTATION
The Supreme Court already was under fire as it considers unprecedented cases against Trump and some of those charged for the
An issue at the center of the controversy is that the high court does not have to adhere to the same ethics codes that guide other federal judges. The Supreme Court had long gone without its own , but it adopted one in November 2023 in the face of sustained criticism over to some justices, including Alito. The code lacks a means of enforcement, however.
The federal code of judicial ethics does not universally prohibit judges from involvement in nonpartisan or religious activity off the bench. But it does say that a judge 鈥渟hould not participate in extrajudicial activities that detract from the dignity of the judge鈥檚 office, interfere with the performance of the judge鈥檚 official duties鈥 or 鈥渞eflect adversely on the judge鈥檚 impartiality.鈥
Jeremy Fogel, executive director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute at the University of California, Berkeley Law School, said the flag revelations lead to questions about whether Alito can be impartial in any case related to Jan. 6 or Trump.
鈥淒isplaying those particular flags creates the appearance at least that the justice is signifying agreement with those viewpoints at a time when there are cases before the court where those viewpoints are relevant,鈥 he said.
that only about one-quarter of Americans think the Supreme Court is doing a somewhat or very good job upholding democratic values. About 45% think it鈥檚 doing a somewhat or very bad job.
Tony Carrk, executive director of , a progressive watchdog organization, said the controversy shows that further steps are needed to put teeth into the court's ethics code.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a reason why the confidence in credibility among the American people for the Supreme Court has plummeted to an all-time low,鈥 he said.
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Associated Press writer Ali Swenson in New York contributed to this report.
