Jeffries demands Alito apologizes for disrespecting flag, and recuse himself from J6 cases

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Friday called for Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to recuse himself from January 6 court cases, and apologize for disrespecting the American flag by flying it upside down in January of 2021.

A New York Times report on Thursday detailed how the flag outside of his home in Alexandria, Virginia, flew upside down in the aftermath of the 2020 election, which Alito claims was done by his wife. The upside down flag is used by some supporters of former President Donald Trump as a symbol of the "Stop the Steal" movement.

Jeffries said Congress should create legislation that imposes an ethical code of conduct on the Supreme Court, which also comes after Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas faced ethics complaints by Democrats last year, for not disclosing loans and gifts from an affluent family friend.

"Samuel Alito should apologize immediately for disrespecting the American flag and sympathizing with right-wing violent insurrectionists," Jeffries said in his statement. "He must recuse himself from cases involving the 2020 election and former President Donald Trump ... The Constitution demands and the American people deserve more from a justice serving on the highest court in the land than baseless election denial."

Alito has maintained that he had nothing to do with the flag flying upside down, and that it was done solely by his wife Martha-Ann Alito.

“I had no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag,” Alito said in an emailed statement to the New York Times. “It was briefly placed by Mrs. Alito in response to a neighbor’s use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs.”

Jeffries's calls for Alito to recuse himself were echoed by Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, who claimed that the controversy regarding the flag presented an appearance of bias.

“The Court is in an ethical crisis of its own making, and Justice Alito and the rest of the Court should be doing everything in their power to regain public trust," Durbin said in a statement. "Supreme Court justices should be held to the highest ethical standards, not the lowest.”

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.