State leaders raise constitutionality concerns after Feds call for stop to protesting outside justices’ Maryland homes
By Ava-joye Burnett
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BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Emotions are still running high more than a week after the U.S. Supreme Court decided to overturn Roe v. Wade.
People protesting the decision have brought their disappointment with it into the neighborhoods where some Supreme Court justices reside.
That action prompted the marshal of the court to send a letter to the governors in Maryland and Virginia asking them to enforce local and state laws that “prohibit picketing at the homes of” the justices.
But that request is getting push-back because limiting protests on public property could be a violation of a person’s First Amendment rights.
In a fiery response, Gov. Larry Hogan’s spokesperson, Mike Ricci, said, “Had the marshal taken time to explore the matter, she would have learned that the constitutionality of the statute cited in her letter has been questioned by the Maryland Attorney General’s Office.”
Hogan “has directed Maryland State Police to further review enforcement options that respect the First Amendment and the Constitution” due to the fact that multiple federal entities refuse to act, Ricci said,
The safety of Supreme Court justices started to garner attention in May after a draft opinion on overturning the landmark abortion case was first leaked to the public.
The following month, a man who had traveled from California was arrested outside Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s Maryland home.
Officers arrested 26-year-old Nicholas John Roske had several items in his possession, including a gun, knife, and pepper spray. Roske allegedly wanted to assassinate Kavanaugh.
Two U.S. deputy marshals watched Roske arrive in a taxi at Kavanaugh’s home in the middle of the night. He was dressed in black and carrying a suitcase, CBS News reports.
Shortly after he arrived outside of the house, he called 911 saying that he had a gun and was having suicidal thoughts, according to court documents.
WJZ obtained a recording of the suspect calling 911 outside the justice’s home.
911: You said you came from California. Did you know someone from down here?
CALLER: Brett Kavanaugh. Brett.
911: Red, like the color?
911: Brett?
CALLER: The Supreme Court Justice
911: Again, you’re sitting at the curb?
CALLER: I’m standing now, but I can sit. I want to be fully compliant. Whatever they want me to do I’ll do.
Roske pleaded not guilty on “federal charges of attempting to murder a justice of the United States” in late June.
As safety continues to be a concern, local police are also helping to keep justices safe while protecting the right to protest.
“We have the specific rules that people have to abide by,” Chief Marcus Jones, the head of the Montgomery County Police, said. “They are allowed to be in the neighborhoods but they must continuously walk – they cannot stand specifically in front of the neighborhood with signs and bull horns and yelling.”
In light of recent safety concerns, Congress recently passed a law that would extend security to Supreme Court Justices and their immediate family.
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