Attorney General Garland, disagreeing with the Supreme Court or by direction of the White House – refuses to enforce federal laws expressly protecting Supreme Court Justices – and all judges – against threats, intimidation, and physical protests at their homes. Pro-abortion acts at the justices’ homes are becoming unconscionable. AG Garland must enforce laws or resign.
Even the Washington Post reports threats are growing, first against justices, then their families, and now their neighbors. Justice Kavanaugh’s neighbors “are fed up with the actions of protesters near their homes,” which “personally target residents” and have “abused them and their children, using drums and megaphones to chant ‘f— you,’ and ‘f— your children.’”
This activity follows unprosecuted law-breaking at justices’ homes, targeting their personal property, their persons, and their children, including an attempted assassination of Kavanaugh, and continued encouragement of activism, with no anti-violence warnings from leading Democrats.
The overarching question – given the high stakes of losing, wounding, or intimidating justices and their families, given clear statutes barring this intimidating, threatening, potentially violent criminal behavior – is why is AG Garland NOT prosecuting these offenders?
Beyond federal statute 18 USC 1507, which expressly bars this kind of action, State and Federal laws of multiple kinds are implicated. Threats of potential assault, including those barred by 18 USC 113, are relevant. Also relevant are 18 USC 1503, 18 USC 115, and other laws involving threats against judges. In addition, 25 State AGs have sought enforcement of the law.
To date, leading administration and congressional Democrats seem to take all this as unimportant, even after a credible attempt to assassinate one of the justices. This is beyond the pale.
The stakes could not be higher, if the party threatened were an elected official, since the current 5-4 Supreme Court majority – in favor of textual or judicial conservatives – hangs in the balance.
At a time when conservative justices are being sworn at, chased from DC restaurants, vilified, and threatened by members of Congress, told they “will pay” by the Senate Majority leader, face a “revolution” by Senate Democrats, and a US House Speaker encourages “anger” – enforcing federal law is vital.
In short, not enforcing these clear, protective, and long-standing laws is unthinkable, immoral, and unconscionable. Unless the objective is expressly to endanger these justices, there can be no excuse for not enforcing these laws, deterring further violence, and halting judicial intimidation.
To be clear, an “independent judiciary” and assuring “checks and balances” under the US Constitution, Federalist Papers, and thousands of past federal and Supreme Court decisions is fundamental to our Republic’s survival.
Accordingly, for a sitting Attorney General knowingly to place justices or judges in fear of life or limb, damage to property, family members, and neighborhood, and allow lawbreakers to go unpunished, is inexcusable.
Bottom line: Memo to AG Garland – Enforce the law or resign.