What To Know About The Controversial 'Appeal To Heaven’ Flag Flown At Justice Samuel Alito’s Home
ForbesMay 25
Flags Outside of Justice Alito's Home Spark Controversy
Above: An "Appeal to Heaven" flag is seen outside of Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) office on Capitol Hill on May 23, 2024 in Washington, DC. Image copyright: Michael A. McCoy/Stringer/Getty Images News via Getty Images North America
The Facts
Reports that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito displayed the "Appeal to Heaven" flag outside of his New Jersey vacation home have sparked a backlash from Democrats and media outlets who claim that the Revolutionary-era banner is a political symbol of the right.
The New York Times reported on Wednesday that it obtained photographs showing the Pine Tree flag being flown outside Alito’s Long Beach Island home during the summer of 2023, leading critics to associate the flag with the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots.
The Spin
Democratic narrative
Just like his far-right legal rulings, Justice Alito's flags show that he is a judicial activist with a scary vision of the US and its Constitution. The upside-down American flag and the "Appeal to Heaven" flag were both prominent symbols of the Jan. 6 insurrection, and the Alitos' embrace of them shows their partisan allegiance to Donald Trump. While Alito may try to claim that the banners have nothing to do with Trump's attempted coup, all circumstantial evidence suggests that he should recuse himself from cases related to Trump and the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Republican narrative
Democrats and their corporate media allies displayed their ignorance of history with their hysterical reaction to the "Appeal to Heaven" flag displayed outside Justice Alito’s home. Instead of discussing the flag's significance during the founding of the country and its allusion to the words of John Locke, the left is trying to reframe it as a symbol of "insurrection." Like the pine tree adorning it, the "Appeal to Heaven" flag is a symbol of peace that is richly steeped in American history. The left's reaction is woke cancel culture run amok.