Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has come under intense pressure from Democrats for the flying of two flags at his residences.
He first came under fire after an upside-down American flag was spotted at his home in Virginia. Days later, reports about him flying an "An Appeal to Heaven" flag over his vacation home reignited calls for his recusal from various Jan. 6-related cases before the court. Critics claimed the flags are symbols of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and far-right extremists.
Here is everything to know about the two flags.
Upside-down American flag
The practice of inverting a flag dates back centuries, starting as a maritime tradition. According to HD Flagpoles, the practice was an early form of an SOS signal, a universally recognized way of expressing that the ship was in danger or needed rescue. The practice has continued — as recently as 1974, the life of a clam digger who suffered a stroke was saved when his inversion of the U.S. flag drew the attention of a police helicopter.
Perhaps the first use of the inverted flag as a protest was in 1854 when abolitionist Henry David Thoreau gave a speech denouncing slavery in front of an inverted U.S. flag, according to the New York Times. Beginning in the late 1960s and early 1970s, protesters more widely adopted the symbol to express their own distress.
Historically, the symbol has mainly been used by liberal, pacifist, environmentalist, and minority activists. It gained national attention in 1970, when University of Washington student Harold Omand Spence was arrested after flying an American flag upside down, with peace symbols taped on, in protest of the U.S. invasion of Cambodia and Kent State University student shooting. In Spence v. Washington, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the student, finding that it was First Amendment-protected speech.
The American Indian Movement, an American Indian activist group, adopted the upside-down American flag as its symbol. It was prominently displayed during the 1973 Wounded Knee standoff.
Left-wing protesters renewed their use of the flag to protest the policies of former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, according to HD Flagpoles. The use of the symbol accelerated during the War on Terror.
The first use of the flag by conservatives was during the Tea Party movement, though left-wing protesters continued to use the symbol. The inverted flag became a common symbol of those protesting former President Donald Trump's election and presidency.
The flag was used by liberals and conservatives protesting the government's COVID-19 response. Black Lives Matter protesters used the symbol as well.
After the 2020 election, Trump supporters began adopting the flag, primarily at "Stop the Steal" rallies alleging election fraud. Several rioters on Jan. 6 flew the flag, though it doesn't appear to have played an outsize role.
Dozens of flags were flown at the riot alongside the upside-down American flag, including the properly displayed American flag, South Vietnamese flag, Republic of Georgia flag, Romanian flag, Pahlavi Iran flag, Marine Corps flag, Thin Blue Line flag, Jolly Roger flag, “Kekistan” flag, Confederate flag, Texan flag, Kazakh flag, "Don’t Tread on Me" flag, numerous variations of "Make America Great Again" flags, and many more.
Last week, the New York Times reported that the home of Alito had flown the flag on Jan. 17, 2021, leading to outcry from Democrats who interpreted it as signaling support for the Jan. 6 riot. Alito claimed that it was put up by his wife in response to a dispute with their neighbors.
“I had no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag,” Alitosaid. “It was briefly placed by Mrs. Alito in response to a neighbor’s use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs.”
The upside-down flag has continued to be used to signify left-wing causes after Jan. 6, gaining widespread use among left-wing activists protesting the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization Supreme Court decision that overturned federal abortion protections established by Roe v. Wade.
'An Appeal to Heaven' flag
The "An Appeal to Heaven" flag was one of the primary flags used by Patriot forces during the American Revolutionary War.
The flag was designed by George Washington’s secretary, Col.Joseph Reed, in 1775. It features a pine tree on a white background, along with the words "An Appeal to Heaven" displayed above.
The pine tree has deep symbolism, as a symbol of New England dating back more than 100 years prior to the Revolution. Already representing the colonies' lucrative shipbuilding industry, it took on new importance in 1772, when a riot over the attempted British acquisition of coveted white pines in New Hampshire marked one of the first major colonial acts of resistance against the British Empire.
The text on the flag, displayed above the pine tree, refers to a passage from the English philosopher John Locke in his Second Treatise of Government. In the passage, Locke argued that if earthly courts and authorities failed to properly address citizens' grievances, the citizens had a divinely ordained right to revolt.
“And where the body of the people, or any single man, is deprived of their right, or is under the exercise of a power without right, and have no appeal on earth, then they have a liberty toappeal to heaven,” hewrote.
The flag was flown by a Massachusetts naval squadron during the Revolutionary War and adopted as the state’s naval flag. A version of the flag, without the text since 1971, remains as Massachusetts’s naval ensign.
The "An Appeal to Heaven" flag has not remained as popular as some other revolutionary flags, such as the original Star-Spangled Banner or the Gadsden flag. Despite this, it remains popular among some and often features in historical dramas of the period, such as the HBO miniseries John Adams.
The flag has taken on a variety of meanings to different people in recent years. According to Americanflags.com, the flag has become popular among Christians and Republicans, who view it as a "moral compass, guiding the nation through challenges and inspiring a commitment to a higher cause."
It is often flown on the National Day of Prayer, according to the website.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA)fliesthe flag alongside the American flag and Louisiana flag outside his office.Othercongressional Republicans also fly the flag, including Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO), who defended his use of the flag after backlash against Alito.
“The ‘An Appeal to Heaven’ flag isn’t provocative and has nothing to do with Jan. 6,” he wrote. “The liberal media should pick up a history book.”
The flag became the center of controversy after a report from the New York Times found that the flag had been flown above Alito's vacation home. Many Democrats, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) claimed the flag was a symbol of the Jan. 6 riot.
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"This is an alarm that I've been sounding for quite some time now," Ocasio-Cortez said in a Wednesday appearance on MSNBC. "I think that what we are seeing here is an extraordinary breach ... of not just the trust and the the stature of the Supreme Court, but we are seeing a fundamental challenge to our democracy. Samuel Alito has identified himself with the same people who raided the Capitol on Jan. 6 and is now going to be presiding over court cases that have deep implications over the participants of that rally."
As with the upside-down flag, the "An Appeal to Heaven" flag was flown by several of those present at the Jan. 6 riot, but it doesn't appear to have played an outsize role.
