Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan have responded to the Supreme Court’s top-ranking security official calling on them to utilize police and law enforcement to prevent picketing at the homes of justices.
As reported by Fox News, Supreme Court Marshall, Gail Curley is calling on the governor to “enforce state law” that prohibits picketing outside the homes of the justices. “The governor agrees with the Marshal that the threatening activity outside the Justices’ homes has increased,” Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin spokesperson Christian Martinez said in response to a letter
“He welcomes the Marshal of the Supreme Court’s request for Fairfax County to enforce state law as they are the primary enforcement authority for the state statute,” the statement added.
Youngkin also called on Attorney General Merrick Garland to “do his job” by “enforcing the much more robust federal law.”
“Every resource of federal law enforcement, including the U.S. Marshals, should be involved while the Justices continue to be denied the right to live peacefully in their homes,” the statement said.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan also received a letter from Curley requesting that the “Maryland State Police, in conjunction with local authorities as appropriate, enforce laws that prohibit picketing outside of the homes of Supreme Court Justices who live in Maryland.”
Hogan’s director of communications Michael Ricci responded to that letter in a Twitter post and also pointed the finger at Garland.
“Two months ago, Governor Hogan and Governor Youngkin sent a letter calling on Attorney General Garland to enforce the clear and unambiguous federal statutes on the books that prohibit picketing at judges’ residences,” Ricci wrote. “A month later, hours after an assassination attempt on Justice Kavanaugh, the Department of Justice finally responded, declining to enforce the laws.”
My response on behalf of the governor to Gail Curley’s Friday night letter: https://t.co/nelAgd3Qiw pic.twitter.com/Iz5nwQhSHu
— Michael Ricci (@riccimike) July 2, 2022
The statement continued, “Now a different federal official is writing to us with conflicting information. Had the marshal taken time to explore the matter, she would have learned that the constitutionality of the statute cited in her letter has been questioned by the Maryland Attorney General’s office.”
Ricci added that Hogan has instructed Maryland State Police to further review law enforcement options “in light of the continued refusal by multiple federal entities to act.”
This is not the first time that both Hogan and Youngkin have called upon the DJO to protect the Supreme Court Justices. Following the dramatic leak of the Supreme courts plan to overturn Roe v. Wade, both of them sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, citing U.S. code about protests conducted to influence judges. They ask Garland to mobilize resources to help state and local law enforcement protect U.S. Supreme Court justices and enforce 18 U.S. Code Section 1507.
While the DOJ has provided security at the justices’ homes, they have allowed protests and picketing to continue unimpeded.