Sen. Tom Cotton blasted The New York Times on Thursday for its latest hit piece against a Supreme Court justice.
In the piece titled, “At Justice Alito’s House, a ‘Stop the Steal’ Symbol on Display,” the Times includes a partial image of the front of the justice’s home showing an American flag flying upside down on Jan. 17, 2021, along with other details about the location of the residence.
After the 2020 presidential election, as some Trump supporters falsely claimed that President Biden had stolen the office, many of them displayed a startling symbol outside their homes, on their cars and in online posts: an upside-down American flag. […]
President Donald J. Trump’s supporters, including some brandishing the same symbol, had rioted at the Capitol a little over a week before. Mr. Biden’s inauguration was three days away. Alarmed neighbors snapped photographs, some of which were recently obtained by The New York Times. Word of the flag filtered back to the court, people who worked there said in interviews.
While the flag was up, the court was still contending with whether to hear a 2020 election case, with Justice Alito on the losing end of that decision. In coming weeks, the justices will rule on two climactic cases involving the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, including whether Mr. Trump has immunity for his actions. Their decisions will shape how accountable he can be held for trying to overturn the last presidential election and his chances for re-election in the upcoming one. (NYT)
Alito told the paper he "had no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag."
“It was briefly placed by Mrs. Alito in response to a neighbor’s use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs," he said in the emailed statement.
Cotton called the hit piece "shameful."
"This is the NYT trying to smear Mrs. Alito and incite another mob to try to intimidate justices, harass them at home, or worse," he wrote on X.
This is the NYT trying to smear Mrs. Alito and incite another mob to try to intimidate justices, harass them at home, or worse.
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) May 16, 2024
Shameful! pic.twitter.com/Xi0gnTRgOF
According to the U.S. Flag Code, an upside American flag is "a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property."