Lucky for you, you’re probably not a neighbor of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, but if you were, your evenings would be punctuated by “loud and vulgar,” almost-nightly protests from abortion proponents shouting about the recent SCOTUS overturn of Roe v. Wade.
The Washington Post went to the tony Washington, D.C. suburb of Chevy Chase, Md. to interview Kavanaugh’s neighbors, and although many in the predominantly liberal enclave refused to go on record, most of the ones who did were not pleased with the disruptions.
“I understand where their passion comes from,” said pro-abortion 46-year-old artist Emily Emily Strulson, “but I’ve had enough.”
Protesters are now calling Kavanaugh’s neighbors “fascists” and forcing people to leave their homes to avoid their children hearing the vulgar language and noise. https://t.co/pF4dfbZPF1
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) July 20, 2022
My colleague Bonchie reported Tuesday on the pro-abortion protests at the Supreme Court, where there were multiple arrests along with the comical sight of Reps Ilhan Omar and AOC pretending to be handcuffed. He makes a great argument:
The biggest question in all this remains exactly what the point of protesting in front of the Supreme Court is. The Justices have already overturned Roe v. Wade via the Dobbs decision. There is no mechanism by which they can now go back and reverse what they did, not even if they wanted to.
Although he’s talking about the protests in front of the Supreme Court, his point applies to the Kavanaugh protesters too.
Back in Kavanaugh’s neighborhood, residents bemoan the intrusion on their lives. Resident Lyric Winik:
The vast majority of people here are pro-choice. And the very vast majority of people here think that these protesters have gotten out of control…
They just call us fascists. Nothing about this is healthy. We’ve got kids on this street scared to leave their homes. I do think they’re hurting their own cause
Lamented one concerned dad:
…the protesters had become “more belligerent, using lots of foul language in their chants” and “have left signs with offensive language.” He continued, “I am expressly concerned for the safety of children on our street, including my own. Kids have stopped playing outside due to fear and the consistent presence of protesters.”
One constant slogan bandied about out by protesters: “Keep your religion! Off my vagina!” Nice. Remember, this is a family neighborhood with lots of kids.
The protests continue even as President Joe Biden has yet to condemn the recent assassination attempt on Kavanaugh, and the administration seems to openly encourage harassing Supreme Court judges. “This is what a democracy is,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said July 8 when asked about the incident where Kavanaugh was forced from a restaurant by protesters.
The question is: Where are the police? Where is the Justice Department? I can guarantee you that if Roe had not been overturned, and Pro-Lifers were demonstrating outside liberal Justice Elena Kagan’s house, hyper-partisan Attorney General Merrick Garland would go down to the neighborhood ASAP to personally oversee the arrest of protesters.
Why? Because protesting in front of a Supreme Court Justice’s house is illegal. Read Title 18, Section 1507 of the U.S. Code, which was enacted in 1950:
Whoever, with the intent of interfering with, obstructing, or impeding the administration of justice, or with the intent of influencing any judge, juror, witness, or court officer, in the discharge of his duty, pickets or parades in or near a building housing a court of the United States, or in or near a building or residence occupied or used by such judge, juror, witness, or court officer, or with such intent uses any sound-truck or similar device or resorts to any other demonstration in or near any such building or residence, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. (Emphasis mine.)
That would seem to be pretty clear. However, protesters and law enforcement are using a loophole: As long as you keep moving, it’s not considered picketing. What a crock. “Those that have been here before know that you just walk, you keep continuously moving, no problem,” police Capt. Jason Cokinos said. “We’ll help you with that.”
That’s great. The police are helping protesters get around what is clearly the intent of the law, which is to prevent people from protesting outside justices’ homes. And yet they continue:
Second pass by Kavanaugh’s house under the new rules. #BansOffOurBodies @downrightimp @OurRightsDC pic.twitter.com/MtaAALYBBo
— MiscreantMouse (she/her) (@LiteraryMouse) July 14, 2022
Police have recently clamped down on the use of bullhorns and other nouse-enhancing devices, but the protests continue unabated. Having protests outside your house every night would certainly be a nightmare, I grant you that. It must be noted, however, that most of the people interviewed were strongly in support of abortion, they just didn’t like all the hassle in their neighborhood. My guess is they’d probably strongly support the protests if they were happening in someone else’s ‘hood.
Like maybe yours.
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