'Real sick stuff': Experts horrified by revelation that Alito flew a second extremist flag
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was exposed on Wednesday by The New York Times for having flown yet another extremist symbol, this time an "Appeal to Heaven" pine flag at his beach house — an old revolutionary symbol that in recent years has been used predominantly by the extreme Christian nationalist movement, and was also commonly flown by rioters trying to stop election certification at the Capitol on January 6.
This comes after revelations there was a "distressed" upside-down flag at his primary residence around the time January 6 was unfolding, another MAGA symbol which he claimed his wife had put up as part of a dispute with a neighbor's anti-Trump sign.
The new report has a new round of commenters on social media criticizing the far-right justice — and questioning the excuse he made for the original flag incident.
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"Alito flew an 'Appeal to Heaven' flag at his beach house *last year*," wrote Angry Staffer, a satirical account that began as a parody criticism of Trump White House insiders. "This isn’t a dog whistle for his J6 support, it’s a f--king megaphone. He should be forced to recuse himself from every case related to J6 - including Trump’s."
"The psychology here is both fascinating and unnerving," wrote MSNBC anchor Chris Hayes. "Who is this for? Why do you feel the need to put the flag up? Is it some kind of "I'm not touching you" provocation bc you think the meaning is coded enough there's plausibly deniability? Real sick stuff!"
"I think the real takeaway from the Appeal to Heaven flag story is that it undermines the January 2021 upside down flag neighbor excuse," wrote Georgia State constitutional law professor Anthony Michael Kreis. "The Alitos are people who love their ideological flags."
"Let he who does not fly the flag of J6ers at their vacation home cast the first stone," wrote national security attorney Bradley Moss.
"Starting to wonder what conclusion I should draw from the endless stream of evidence that Sam Alito is a complete f------ freak," wrote Peter "Law Boy" Shamshiri, one of the lawyers who hosts the progressive legal podcast 5-4.