Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on May 9 said authorities were working to make sure there wasn’t violence at the protests outside Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s home.
Dozens of protesters, including apparent members of the far-left Antifa network, went to Alito’s house in Alexandria in Fairfax County.
“When abortion rights are under attack, what do we do?” one woman said through a loudspeaker. “Stand up, fight back!” the crowd chanted.
“[Expletive] you Alito!” protesters shouted later.
More than an hour after the crowd left the home, Youngkin said that his office had been coordinating with the Fairfax County Police Department, Virginia State Police, and federal authorities “to ensure that there isn’t violence.”
“Virginia State Police were closely monitoring, fully coordinated with Fairfax County and near the protests,” he added.
Protesters previously went to the homes of Justices Brett Kavanaugh and John Roberts in Maryland, and protests at the homes of six justices, including Alito, are planned for May 11.
Some conservatives, including former Trump administration press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, criticized Youngkin for what they saw as a weak response to the situation, pointing out that state law prohibits people assembling “with another person or persons in a manner which disrupts or threatens to disrupt any individual’s right to tranquility in his home.”
The actions outlined by Youngkin are “not good enough,” Will Chamberlain, senior counsel at the Internet Accountability Project, wrote on Twitter. “Either explain why these protests are lawful in Virginia, or *make arrests* next time. We are tired of Republicans who won’t enforce the law against Antifa thugs.”
“Terrorists were allowed to intimidate a Supreme Court judge’s family home tonight in Virginia,” Jack Posobiec, a host at Human Events, added. “Elected leaders did nothing. Laws don’t matter if no one enforces them.”
Porter told The Epoch Times in an email that “here are a lot of incorrect statements floating around on Twitter” and referred questions to Fairfax County and the Virginia State Police.
Second Lt. James Curry, a spokesman for the Fairfax County Police Department, told The Epoch Times in an email that the demonstrations outside Alito’s home “were peaceful,” adding: “Officers remained on scene to ensure the safety of the participants, our community members and the roadways until the crowd dispersed on their own. No arrests were made.”
A Virginia State Police spokesperson said the agency also made no arrests.
Neither agency answered questions about which authority was in charge of the scene and why no arrests were made for apparent violations of state law.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares did not respond to a request for comment.
No arrests were made during the protests at the homes of Kavanaugh and Roberts, police in Montgomery County, Maryland, told The Epoch Times in an email.
The Department of Justice, which has been called on by some to enforce federal law that forbids picketing or parading near the homes of judges “with the intent of interfering with, obstructing, or impeding the administration of justice,” declined to comment.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki told a press conference earlier Monday, after saying that President Joe Biden “strongly believes in the constitutional right to protest,” that she was not suggesting people break laws.
“We are a country that promotes democracy, and we certainly allow for peaceful protest in a range of places in the country. None of it should violate the law; no one is suggesting that. And it should never resort to violence, to threats, to intimidation in any way, shape, or form,” she said.
Protesters are upset that the Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that declared access to abortion a constitutional right, according to a draft majority opinion leaked to Politico.
