Hakeem Jeffries calls on Alito to apologize for 'disrespecting the American flag'

WASHINGTON — House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., called on Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to apologize after a recent New York Times report that an upside-down American flag was flown at Alito’s home after the 2020 election.

Inverted flags have been used by former President Donald Trump supporters and symbolize false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

“Samuel Alito should apologize immediately for disrespecting the American flag and sympathizing with right-wing violent insurrectionists,” Jeffries wrote in a statement. “He must recuse himself from cases involving the 2020 election and former President Donald Trump.”

The high court is deciding two cases related to Trump and his supporters’ efforts to overturn the results of the election, decisions that will affect the criminal election interference charges pending against Trump. Supreme Court justices are not supposed to engage in politics.

“Congress should immediately consider legislation to impose an ethical code of conduct on a runaway Supreme Court. The Constitution demands and the American people deserve more from a justice serving on the highest court in the land than baseless election denial,” Jeffries added in his statement.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., also called on Alito to recuse himself from cases related to the 2020 election in a statement, arguing that flying an inverted flag "clearly creates the appearance of bias."

Alito told The New York Times that his wife had briefly placed the upside down flag at their house “in response to a neighbor’s use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs.”

“I had no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag,” he told the Times.

Rep. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who clerked for Alito when he served on the appeals court, quickly came to Alito's defense on X, formerly Twitter.

"Justice Alito and his family have been relentlessly harassed by leftists," he wrote on X. "Not one prosecution has been brought against those who have violated 18 USC 1508 while harassing them. Same with those harassing his colleagues at their homes. Will the NY Times ever report on that?"

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jeffries says Sam Alito should apologize for 'disrespecting' flag