Pelosi Praises Abortion Protestors After Demonstrations At Justice’s Homes

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi praised pro-abortion agitators across America Monday, saying they had “channeled their righteous anger into meaningful action” after dozens demonstrated outside the homes of Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh over the weekend. 

After a week in which the White House refused to condemn or call off the planned demonstrations, Pelosi (D-Calif.) told her Democratic colleagues she had been “moved” by the nationwide outpouring of emotion over the issue, which also included outbreaks of violence in Los Angeles and an arson attack on a pro-life organization in Wisconsin.  

In her so-called “Dear Colleague” letter, Pelosi alleged that “once Republicans have dispensed with precedent and privacy in overturning Roe [v. Wade], they will take aim at additional basic human rights.  At this pivotal moment, the stakes for women, and every American, could not be higher.”

“While Republicans want to punish and control women for exercising their constitutional rights, Democrats believe that a woman’s health decisions are her own and we will fight relentlessly to enshrine Roe v. Wade as the law of the land,” she added.

About 100 sign-holding demonstrators walked from Kavanaugh’s home to Roberts’ nearby abode in suburban Maryland Saturday.

Video posted on social media showed the group chanting, “The whole world is watching!,” “We will not go back” and “My body, my choice.”

It is unclear whether either Roberts or Kavanaugh or their families were home at the time. However, concerns have been raised for their safety and the safety of the four other conservative Supreme Court justices as additional “walk-bys” have been planned for later this week.

At the White House, press secretary Jen Psaki again declined Monday to call for the protests to stop or to call out the leak of the draft opinion that touched off the unrest last week.

“We’re certainly not suggesting anyone break any laws,” Psaki told reporters. “I would note that the president’s view has long been and I tweeted this earlier this morning and repeated and made a number of comments last week as well that violence, threats and intimidation have no place in political discourse. Yes, we are a country that promotes democracy, and we certainly allow for peaceful protest in a range of places in the country. None of it should violate the law. No one is suggesting that. And it should never resort to violence, to threats, to intimidation in any way, shape or form. But that is what our position is and the president’s position.”

Psaki notably did not say that demonstrators should refrain from picketing justices’ homes, despite being apprised of a Virginia law prohibiting protests of any kind outside private residences. At least two conservative jurists on the high court, Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, live in the commonwealth. 

The protests took place days after a draft Supreme Court opinion penned by Alito that would strike down the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision was leaked to Politico.

When asked by a reporter Monday if President Biden planned to condemn the unprecedented disclosure or the demonstrations outside justices’ homes, Psaki responded: “We have been clear, and the president’s position has long been, that we should not see protest that takes the form of violence, that takes the form of vandalism and that threatens anyone. That has long been his position for his entire career and that continues to be his position.” 

She later added: “We have not seen violence or vandalism against Supreme Court justices. We have seen it at Catholic churches. That’s unacceptable. The president does not support that. We have seen it at some conservative organizations, that we don’t support that. And we certainly call for, we know the passion. We understand the passion. We understand the concern, but what the president’s position is, is that that should be peaceful, the protests.”

The outgoing press secretary has repeatedly declined to condemn the protests, saying last week that “I think our view here is that peaceful protests, there’s a long history in the United States, in the country, of that and we’ve certainly encouraged people to keep it peaceful and not resort to any level of violence.”

“The president’s view is that there’s a lot of passion, a lot of fear, a lot of sadness from many, many people across this country about what they saw in that leaked document,” Psaki added at the time. “We obviously want people’s privacy to be respected. We want people to protest peacefully if they want to protest. That is certainly what the president’s view would be.”

On Monday morning, Psaki changed her tune after the displays at the homes of Roberts and Kavanaugh, tweeting: “.@POTUS strongly believes in the Constitutional right to protest. But that should never include violence, threats, or vandalism. Judges perform an incredibly important function in our society, and they must be able to do their jobs without concern for their personal safety.”

When a reporter posited during Monday’s briefing that ongoing protests could prove unproductive by alienating a potential swing vote like Kavanaugh or Roberts, Psaki answered: “I would say in terms of the productive question, that’s not for me to speak to. Obviously, these justices make decisions as an independent body. How they’re influenced or if they’re influenced is not for me to make a determination of. We do believe in peaceful protest, we do not believe in or support any intimidation of any kind, obviously the violation or breaking of any law … or the threat or intimidation of any individual. What we do support is people peacefully protesting, and they do that in a range of places.”

Since the leak of the draft opinion, thousands of protesters have gathered in major cities across the US, including outside the Supreme Court building in Washington.

Some have speculated about whether Saturday’s demonstrations were legal, as 18 U.S.C. 1507 states that anyone who has the intent of “interfering with, obstructing, or impeding the administration of justice, or … the intent of influencing any judge, juror, witness, or court officer” and pickets or parades in or near a court building or residence “occupied or used by such judge, juror, witness or court officer” will face a fine or imprisonment of up to one year.

The law also applies to people using sound trucks or similar devices “or resorts to any other demonstration in or near such building or residence.”

A final decision in the case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, is expected from the Supreme Court by the end of June.