White House press secretary Jen Psaki went out with the same snobbish flair she entered the role with, refusing to denounce reports that radical left pro-abortion activists plan to lay siege on the homes of the conservative Supreme Court justices.
With Democrats like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., whipping the nation into a frenzy after an unprecedented leak of an initial draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito showed the high court may vote to strike down the landmark decision Roe v. Wade, activists under the name “Ruth Sent Us” have published what is purported to be the home addresses of Justices Amy Coney Barrett, John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch, Fox News reported.
There’s reportedly a strong police presence at the justices’ homes and the activists plan to show up on May 11. At the same time, DC police have erected fencing and barricades around the Supreme Court in anticipation of escalating protests.
At Thursday’s press briefing, Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy asked Psaki, “Do you think that progressive activists that are now planning protests outside some of the justices’ houses are extreme?”
“Peaceful protest? No, peaceful protest is not extreme,” Psaki replied, in defense of the intimidation tactic.
“Some of these justices have young kids,” Doocy then said. “Their neighbors are not all public figures. So would the president think about waving off activists who want to go into residential neighborhoods in Virginia and Maryland?”
Psaki replied, “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.”
Doocy: “Activists posted a map with the home addresses of the Supreme Court justices. Is that kind of thing this president wants?”
PSAKI: “I don’t have an official U.S. government position on where people protest.” pic.twitter.com/kpqF1FUGVF
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) May 5, 2022
Remarkable. But Psaki was far from finished.
“These activists posted a map with the home addresses of the Supreme Court justices. Is that the kind of thing this president wants to help your side make their point?” Doocy followed up.
Psaki’s response was to essentially praise the extreme reaction now being seen around the country.
“Look, I think 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,” she said. “We obviously want people’s privacy to be respected. We want people to protest peacefully if they want to — to protest. That is certainly what the president’s view would be.”
When pressed on whether President Biden cares about protesting outside the Supreme Court or outside someone’s private residence, Psaki declared, “I don’t have an official U.S. government position on where people protest.”
“I want it — we want it, of course, to be peaceful. And certainly, the president would want people’s privacy to be respected,” she continued, before again defending the activists. “But I think we shouldn’t lose the point here: The reason people are protesting is because women across the country are worried about their fundamental rights that have been law for 50 years. Their rights to make choices about their own bodies and their own healthcare are at risk. That’s why people are protesting. They’re unhappy. They’re scared.”
This being the same cabal that declared Americans unhappy and even fearful that election integrity is under assault are insurrectionists.
The reaction to the story was pretty intense, with George Washington University lay professor Jonathan Turley, a liberal, declaring, “Today’s ‘nonposition’ of the White House on the targeting of justices at their homes is one of the lowest moments in American politics. We have finally hit the bedrock of rage in American politics…”
…Psaki was asked what should have been an easy question on whether it is appropriate to target justices at their homes. She responded “I don’t have an official U.S. government position on where people protest.”
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) May 6, 2022
Here are a few other responses from Twitter:
So today Psaki would not condemn activists posting the home addresses of Justices and had to concede that Biden does not support any legal restrictions on abortion up until birth.
Crazy extent to which this admin panders to a small group of left-wing extremists.
— AG (@AGHamilton29) May 5, 2022
In case you missed it, acting as the representative of the President of the United States, Jen Psaki said the government has no position in whether protestors should harass Supreme Court Justices at their homes.
— RBe (@RBPundit) May 6, 2022
Jen Psaki’s – and therefore Biden’s, refusal to condemn the posting of maps to conservative Supreme Court Justices’ homes feels a bit like a hint hint, wink wink, nudge nudge to the worst elements on the activist left. One might even call it an unprecedented attack on democracy.
— Joanne Mason (@JoanneMason11) May 6, 2022
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Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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