Top Republican lawmakers sent a letter to the Department of Justice on Wednesday demanding answers over a lack of criminal prosecution surrounding “illegal picketing” outside the homes of Supreme Court justices, one week after a man was arrested and charged after plotting to kill Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and 10 other Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee signed the letter addressing Attorney General Merrick Garland directly, questioning why the DOJ had not prosecuted dozens of protesters who had shown up outside the homes of several justices in recent weeks. The protests have largely been in response to a May 2 leaked draft opinion signaling a majority of justices on the high court are poised to allow states to make restrictive laws preventing abortion procedures.
“Somehow, the situation is only escalating. Not only did the illegal picketing resume mere hours after the assassination attempt on Justice Kavanaugh, but reports are that those seeking to intimidate the Justices at their homes plan to expand their campaign of harassment to their children’s schools. Enough,” McConnell wrote in the letter obtained by the Washington Examiner.
The DOJ confirmed it received the letter in a statement to the Washington Examiner and included additional comment from Garland when asked about the recent protests during an afternoon press conference in Buffalo, New York.
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“So, the Justice Department takes extraordinarily seriously any violence — any criminal threats of violence, intimation, harassment of the justices or of any government officials. For that reason, we swiftly moved to provide 24/7 protection for the justices, including of their residences,” Garland told reporters.
The attorney general added that “right from the very beginning,” he called for a meeting with the marshal of the Supreme Court, who is investigating the leaked draft opinion, along with the director of the U.S. Marshals Service and the deputy director of the FBI to “be sure that we were assessing all possible threats and providing all resources available.”
“I also met with the judges, Judge Salas and Judge Sullivan, of the Judicial Conference Committee on Judicial Security and pledged our full support as well as our support for the legislation that they are seeking. There is currently legislation passing through Congress, and the Justice Department is extremely supportive of that security legislation,” Garland added.
Earlier in the day, McConnell asked “Where is Attorney General Garland?” on the Senate floor Wednesday, adding, “As the former chief judge of the D.C. Circuit, he should understand the need for judicial security and independence as well as anyone.”
McConnell also blasted Garland’s June 8 response to a previous letter sent by the GOP leader on May 18 requesting the DOJ’s response to apparent violations of Section 1507 of the Criminal Code, which makes it a crime to “picket” outside the home of a judge “with the intent of influencing any judge.”
In Garland’s response earlier this month, he acknowledged McConnell’s letter “suggests that some individuals may have violated federal criminal law” but deferred to long-standing DOJ policy not to confirm or deny the initiation or existence of any investigation, adding, “Do not interpret this acknowledgment as confirmation or denial of an investigation.”
In McConnell’s most recent letter, he urged Garland to avoid “meaningless boilerplate” about the DOJ’s policies and explain whether there was a “good reason why you aren’t charging these obvious crimes.”
“President Biden won’t even denounce the ongoing protests at judges’ private homes, and our supposedly nonpolitical attorney general will not lift a finger to enforce existing federal law,” McConnell said in his Senate floor speech Wednesday.
Last week, 26-year-old Nicholas Roske of Simi Valley, California, was charged with attempted murder after he flew from California and traveled to the justice’s Chevy Chase, Maryland, home with a Glock 17 pistol in his suitcase and additional materials intended to help him execute his plan before he was arrested by law enforcement during the early hours of June 8. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted.
Additionally, a criminal affidavit alleged Roske discovered Kavanaugh’s address on the internet and confirmed its location by comparing images and videos from recent protests outside the justice’s home.
Republicans have long been frustrated that the DOJ hasn’t done enough to enforce the existing anti-protest law and more recently hit House Democrats, accusing them of stalling legislation intended to beef up security for the high court justices.
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On Tuesday, the House managed to clear the Senate-passed Supreme Court security legislation, sending the legislation to the president’s desk, without some amendments that were sought by Democrats, such as suggestions to increase security for clerks in the high court.
“It’s obviously behavior that we will not tolerate,” Garland said of the threat to Kavanaugh during a June 8 press conference. “Threats of violence and actual violence against the justices, of course, strike at the heart of our democracy. And we will do everything we can to prevent them and to hold people who do them accountable.”
