(Washington Times) The marshal of the Supreme Court requested law enforcement officials in Virginia and Maryland to use laws on the books there to prohibit picketing outside of the homes of Supreme Court justices in the wake of the high court overturning the right to abortion.
In letters to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Gail Curley, the Supreme Court marshal, asked the officials to enforce state law banning the residential protests.
Ms. Curley said both states have laws that prohibit the conduct and allow for criminal charges.
“Earlier this week, for example, 75 protesters loudly picketed at one Justice’s home in Montgomery County for 20-30 minutes in the evening, then proceeded to picket at another Justice’s home for 30 minutes, where the crowd grew to 100, and finally returned to the first Justice’s home to picket for another 20 minutes,” Ms. Curley wrote. “This is exactly the kind of conduct that the Maryland and Montgomery County laws prohibit.”
The letters were sent Friday, but the Supreme Court shared them with some reporters on Saturday.
Both governors had previously raised concerns over the protests in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland in May. They requested federal law enforcement uphold federal law that bans protesting with the intent to influence a judge’s ruling.
Michael Ricci, a spokesperson for Mr. Hogan, said due to the refusal from the feds to act, “the governor has directed Maryland State Police to further review enforcement options.”
Christian Martinez, a spokesperson for Mr. Youngkin, said he’s been in contact with the justices and local police to ensure the justices’ safety, but pushed for federal help.
“Additionally, the Attorney General of the U.S. should do his job by enforcing the much more robust federal law,” a statement from Mr. Martinez reads.
