White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked again on Tuesday about protests targeting the homes of Supreme Court Justices, and she again doubled down on supporting the attempted intimidation of Justices saying that it's President Biden's position to "certainly continue to encourage" the protests "outside of judges' homes" that "have been peaceful to date."
Watch:
Psaki on "protests that have been peaceful to date":
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 10, 2022
"We certainly continue to encourage that outside of judges' homes." pic.twitter.com/h3t8Jsw1Ss
The statement from Psaki regarding President Biden's position on the protests contradicts her earlier statement in a gaggle last week that Biden didn't have a "particular view" on the protests targeting Justices with the intention of swaying their decision on an unreleased opinion.
As Katie has covered in recent briefings, Psaki first wrote off protests as the result of "passionate" Americans, then — after a pro-life organization in Wisconsin was firebombed — she tweeted to clarify that "peaceful" protests were okay.
But, as many court watchers and online observers have pointed out, there's a federal law that seems to apply to the unhinged, profane, and bizarre protests that have been taking place outside the homes of Justices Alito, Kavanaugh, and other originalists.
Jen Psaki's predecessor at the White House podium for the final stretch of the Trump administration's time in office, Kayleigh McEnany raised the statute — 18 U.S.C. § 1507 — last week on Fox News.
18 U.S.C. § 1507 ?? pic.twitter.com/sFtT4euNl4
— Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) May 6, 2022
What's more, there's a law on the books in Virginia — Section 18.2-418 — which states:
It is hereby declared that the protection and preservation of the home is the keystone of democratic government; that the public health and welfare and the good order of the community require that members of the community enjoy in their homes a feeling of well-being, tranquility, and privacy, and when absent from their homes carry with them the sense of security inherent in the assurance that they may return to the enjoyment of their homes…
That VA law, then, also applies to the homes of Justices who reside in Virginia, including Justice Alito, where — as Julio witnessed Monday night — pro-abortion leftists showed up to hold a vigil that quickly deteriorated into profane screams that undoubtedly prevented a feeling of "tranquility and privacy" for those on Alito's block.
So, the White House is saying it "certainly" encourages unhinged leftists to continue carrying out so-called "peaceful" protests that seem to violate federal law and, in the case of Justices who live in Virginia, the laws of the Commonwealth.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) echoed the White House's line while cracking a joke about protests outside federal officials' homes:
Q: "Are you comfortable with the protests that we saw outside the homes of Supreme Court justices over the weekend?"@SenSchumer: "If protests are peaceful; yes. My house, there's protests 3-4 times a week outside my house." pic.twitter.com/Mlu5dbHDbr
— CSPAN (@cspan) May 10, 2022
Never mind, apparently, that 18 U.S.C. § 1507 applies to judges, not senators.
The White House and Schumer's repeated endorsement of protests follows Chicago Democrat Mayor Lori Lightfoot's escalating rhetoric that saw her issue a "call to arms" against the Supreme Court on Monday night.
As the nation's Democrat leaders continue to push radicals to target Supreme Court justices at their homes — presumably the whole point of leaking the draft opinion in the first place — polling from Trafalgar, written up by my colleague Ed Morrissey at Townhall sister-site HotAir, shows that even "two-thirds of *Democrats* disapprove of protests at SCOTUS justice homes."