Youngkin, Hogan ask Justice Dept. to halt protests at justices' homes

Source: Washington Post

VIRGINIA POLITICS

Youngkin, Hogan ask Justice Dept. to halt protests at justices' homes

By Laura Vozzella, Erin Cox and Dan Morse
Today at 12:25 a.m. EDT Updated today at 2:25 a.m. EDT

RICHMOND -- The Republican governors of Virginia and Maryland, where the homes of Supreme Court justices have become the targets of protests, are demanding that At

{snip}torney General Merrick Garland enforce a federal law that forbids demonstrations intended to sway judges on pending cases.

Demonstrators have gathered over the past week at the homes of several conservative justices, spurred by the leak of a draft opinion suggesting that the high court is preparing to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision guaranteeing access to abortion nationwide.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan wrote to Garland (D) on Wednesday, just days after some conservatives faulted Youngkin for not having protesters outside the Alexandria, Va., home of Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. arrested under a state statute prohibiting demonstrations at private residences. ... Protesters insist they are legally exercising their First Amendment rights and questioned the notion that they were trying to illegally influence the justices.

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The two governors -- both potential 2024 Republican presidential contenders -- said the protests were something for President Biden's Justice Department to address, citing a federal statute outlawing demonstrations intended to influence a judge's pending decision. ... "It is in your hands to ensure that applicable federal law is enforced to preserve the integrity of our American judicial system and the safety of our citizens," they wrote.

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Ellie Silverman, Justin Jouvenal, Matt Zapotosky and Antonio Olivo contributed to this report.

By Laura Vozzella
Laura Vozzella covers Virginia politics for The Washington Post. Before joining The Post, she was a political columnist and food writer at the Baltimore Sun, and she has also worked for the Associated Press, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Hartford Courant. Twitter https://twitter.com/LVozzella

By Erin Cox
Erin Cox is a politics reporter covering Maryland. She joined The Washington Post in 2018 and has written about Maryland since 2007. Twitter https://twitter.com/ErinatThePost

By Dan Morse
Dan Morse covers courts and crime in Montgomery County. He arrived at the paper in 2005, after reporting stops at the Wall Street Journal, Baltimore Sun and Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser, where he was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. He is the author of "The Yoga Store Murder." Twitter https://twitter.com/morsedan

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/05/12/protests-youngkin-hogan-justices-abortion/

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I hope the protestors are trying to influence the justices. Otherwise, what's the point of the protests? The fine print is that they are legally trying to influence the justices.

Hat tip, Joe.My.God.

GOP Govs To DOJ: Stop The Protests At Justices' Homes
May 12, 2022

https://www.joemygod.com/2022/05/gop-govs-to-doj-stop-the-protests-at-justices-homes/

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The federal statute is incredibly clear, if you are parading or picketing in order to try to influence a judge then it's punishable with jail time.

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Why don't you charge them under Virginia state law? If no one will enforce the federal law, you don't need federal permission to enforce state law.

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