Pro-abortion protesters appeared outside Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s house again on May 12.
Their appearance is the latest in a campaign that started after someone leaked a Supreme Court opinion that suggested the court planned to overturn Roe v. Wade.
That sparked pro-choice supporters into publicly expressing anger about the move to the court and some have done so outside the homes of conservative justices.
On May 9, at least 100 people demonstrated outside Justice Samuel Alito’s house.
So far, protesters have visited the homes of Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, and Alito.
They have not yet gone to the residences of Justice Clarence Thomas or Justice Neil Gorsuch.
Roberts has stated that the court won’t be influenced by public pressure or intimidation.
“The court right now, we had our conference this morning, we’re doing our work,” Alito said.
Another Wave
The night of May 12 saw two demonstrations that targeted Kavanaugh and Roberts. The two justices live near each other.
Activist group Ruth Sent Us protested by marching into Chevy Chase Club, a country club that Kavanaugh and Roberts both attend.
They wore “handmaid” costumes drawn from Margaret Atwood’s novel “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
The novel depicts a dystopia where religious extremists force women to have children.
Five people attended the protest. One of them sang, “We Shall Overcome.”
They carried several signs, including one with Kavanaugh’s face with the word “liar” written above it. Another read, “Either legalize abortion or mandate vasectomies.”
One of their signs also suggested that Kavanaugh’s club membership was paid for by someone attempting to influence him.
“Hey guys, you need to leave the premises please,” a club employee said. “This is private property. You can’t be here.”
“Pardon me, sir. We would like to join your club. May we have applications?” one of the demonstrators said.
“Not right now,” the staff member said. “You need to leave the premises please.”
“We are leaving the premises, sir,” the protester continued in a clipped voice. “We are sorry you did not want us in your club.”
A few club members honked car horns at the group.
“I think I’m gonna cry,” one joked. “Why were they being so mean? They didn’t want us in the club.”
“I’ve got $92,000 cash in my backpack,“ the protester said. ”That’s just the initiation fee.”
The group walked outside the club, then through the Chevy Chase area for about 20 minutes.
Police didn’t interfere with their march.
The same night, an activist with the Twitter handle of Federal Felon Mouse also protested outside of Kavanaugh and Roberts’ houses.
According to the activist’s page, between 15 and 20 people attended the gathering.
Several carried signs reading, “You are afraid of people peacefully protesting? Christine Blasey Ford had to move four times because of death threats caused by your rapist frat boy gaslighting,” “When the Constitution was written only hetero white men were ‘people’ but yeah, defer to that,” and “[Expletive] the patriarchy.”
On Twitter, pro-abortion activist page Downright Impolite announced that it would hold marches every Wednesday in May outside Kavanaugh’s and Roberts’ houses.
But the declaration of weekly protests appears to be a lower limit, not an upper boundary.
Ruth Sent Us organized multiple protests this week alone.
According to federal law, it’s a crime to picket or parade to influence a judge or juror.
In Virginia, it’s also illegal to protest in front of someone’s home.
When Ruth Sent Us marched outside Amy Coney Barrett’s Virginia residence, a leader said the event was “performance art.”
She refused to answer as to whether “performance art” was a loophole that allowed demonstrators to continue marching despite local ordinances.
So far, police haven’t arrested anyone for demonstrating outside the homes of Supreme Court justices.
Congress Responds
“They should haul all of these people down to the police headquarters. They should book them for violating a federal statute,” said Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R).
“What they’re trying to do is change the outcome of a Supreme Court decision, and they’re doing it by showing force and intimidation.”
“Let me say emphatically: We need to protect Supreme Court justices and their families, period. We’re a nation of laws, not of violence, not of intimidation,” said House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer (D).
In response to the protests outside the homes of justices, Congress has worked to pass the Supreme Court Police Parity Act. The act would give the court’s justices 24-hour police protection.
On May 9, the act passed the Senate. Currently, the House is discussing the bill. House Democrats proposed a new version of the bill that would protect both the families of justices and the families of other Supreme Court employees.
Google has also reacted to the demonstrations by removing a map of the justices’ houses that Ruth Sent Us posted online.
Regardless of these developments, the protests have continued, and are scheduled to continue until the Supreme Court releases its opinion on Dobbs v. Jackson.
Before the leak happened, experts expected the court’s opinion on abortion to go public by the end of its term in June.
