Alito’s former neighbor: ‘At worst, he’s just outright lying’ about flag timeline
A former neighbor of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said that “at worst, he’s just outright lying” regarding the timeline of the upside-down American flag flown at his Virginia home.
Alito has been in the spotlight over flying controversial flags at his homes, first revealed in reporting by The New York Times. The upside-down American flag — typically seen a signal of distress but recently associated with the “Stop the Steal” movement — flew in early 2021. His New Jersey house flew an “Appeal to Heaven” flag last summer.
What is an ‘Appeal to Heaven’ flag?
The justice has said his wife, Martha-Ann Alito, put up the flag at their Alexandria, Va., home over a “very nasty” neighborhood dispute, one that reportedly involved former neighbor Emily Baden.
Baden’s then-boyfriend had called law enforcement Feb. 15, 2021, to lodge a complaint about Martha-Ann Alito’s “unprompted” actions toward them, according to records obtained by CNN.
In an interview Wednesday with CNN, Baden disputed the chain of events presented by Alito.
“And I just want to emphasize that the interaction that happened on Feb. 15 is the one that they’re using as an excuse for why they flew the flag,” Baden said on “OutFront” with CNN’s Erin Burnett.
“And I really want to hammer home the fact that that happened on Feb. 15, and their flag went up two or three weeks before that, so even if it were a valid excuse that they were having a dispute with a neighbor, and that made them put the flag up,” she continued. “That timeline just disproves it.”
“At best, he’s mistaken. But at worst, he’s just outright lying.”
In the wake of the 2020 election, Baden displayed anti-Trump signs outside of her home.
Martha-Ann Alito complained, and the situation escalated. Samuel Alito said a male neighbor, Baden’s then-boyfriend, called his wife the “c-word,” and after the exchange, his distraught wife hung the flag.
According to Baden, Martha-Ann Alito initiated the conflict.
“Aside from putting up a sign, we did not begin or instigate any of these confrontations,” Baden told the Times last month.
Baden on Wednesday told CNN that Alito “didn’t do anything” when the exchange occurred involving his wife. “He just kept walking,” Baden said. “And basically disappeared.”
She also said she regrets the exchange with the justice’s wife, during which she, not her partner, used a vulgarity.
“And I did use the word, so if that in any way, you know, distracts from that real message, I do regret using the word because the message is important,” she said Wednesday.
Following the revelations around the flags, some lawmakers called on the justice to recuse himself from any cases related to the 2020 election and the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Alito rejected those calls.
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