Why won’t Biden stop illegal protests at justices’ homes?
Protesters outside Brett Kavanaugh’s house warned the Supreme Court justice this weekend, “If you take away our choices, we will riot.” They marched on Justice Samuel Alito Jr.’s home chanting “Abort the court!” and stood outside the home of Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. (who apparently did not vote to overturn Roe v. Wade) yelling “The whole world is watching!”
This is not just noxious behavior; it is illegal. Federal law — Section 1507 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code — clearly states that it is unlawful to protest near a “residence occupied or used by [a] judge, juror, witness, or court officer” with the intent of influencing “the discharge of his duty,” adding that anyone who “uses any sound-truck or similar device or resorts to any other demonstration in or near any such building or residence, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.”
The reason is simple: It is obstruction of justice. Just as it is against the law to tamper with witnesses or jurors by intimidating them or their family, it’s unlawful to tamper with a Supreme Court justice by coming to their home to threaten, harass or coerce them to influence their vote in a case before the court.
So, what is the Biden administration doing about it? This is a federal statute, so it’s Attorney General Merrick Garland’s responsibility to enforce it. When the National School Boards Association wrote to President Joe Biden complaining about angry parents showing up at school board meetings, Garland immediately issued a memorandum to the director of the FBI ordering him to “convene meetings ... in each federal judicial district” to discuss “strategies for addressing threats” made by parents. The Justice Department further announced Garland would form “a task force, consisting of representatives from the department’s ... National Security Division” — created by the Patriot
Act to investigate terrorists — to “determine how federal enforcement tools can be used to prosecute these crimes.”
Garland declared at the time, “Threats against public servants are not only illegal, they run counter to our nation’s core values.” Are Supreme Court justices not public servants? Does attempting to intimidate them not run counter to our nation’s core values? In the case of the school boards, not one of the incidents they cited involved a violation of federal law, yet Garland swung into action. But the harassment of justices at their homes does violate federal law and what is Garland doing? Despite multiple inquiries, Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley refused to explain what steps Garland was taking to protect justices or enforce the law.
Garland’s failure to act is an appalling dereliction of duty. So is Biden’s failure to condemn the protests. During his victory speech after the election, Biden declared that it was time to “stop treating our opponents as our enemy.” In his inaugural address, he promised to “end this uncivil war” and put “my whole soul” into “bringing America together.”
Not only has he failed to fulfill that promise, he has modeled the bad behavior of these protesters. When Republicans blocked his partisan election law, Biden accused them of standing with racists and traitors, and called them “enemies” of America, thundering, “I will defend the right to vote, our democracy against all enemies — foreign and, yes, domestic.” That sent a signal that our fellow Americans who disagree with us are in fact “enemies” and can be treated as such. When someone is your enemy, then there is nothing to stop you from showing up at their house to threaten and intimidate them.