Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Blames His Wife for His Many Controversies

The attack on the United States Capitol that took place on Jan. 6, 2021, has left a lasting impact on the country, the effects of which are still being tabulated to this day. Shortly following the insurrection, waves of alt-right-leaning citizens with known connections to the event were placed on no-fly lists. In that same measure, several more citizens were arrested for attending what many consider to be a large-scale act of domestic terrorism. And that was just in the first few months.

The insurrection, largely instigated by former President Donald Trump in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election results, is still being closely examined in court to this day thanks to ongoing cases. Unsurprisingly, the United States Supreme Court has overseen many of them, despite the potential conflict of interest displayed by Justice Samuel Alito. He has long been embroiled in controversies, including those related to the Capitol attack. Interestingly enough, he has blamed his wife for that.

Justice Alito has been married to Martha-Ann Bomgardner since 1985. She's a law librarian and was with him long before he was first appointed as a Supreme Court Judge in 2006. According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, she hails from Kentucky and has spoken at length about the publicity that comes with being married to a Supreme Court judge.

Despite her long-standing marriage to a public figure, Martha-Ann only rose to prominence and controversy in 2024.

On May 16, 2024, The New York Times reported on an upside-down American flag that was displayed prominently outside of Justice Alito's house. The image of an upside-down flag has been widely associated with alt-right sentiments and highly controversial "Stop the Steal" rhetoric and was even seen throughout the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. A Pine Tree Flag, which has also been associated with the alt-right, was displayed at his beach house on May 22, shortly after the incident.

While Justice Alito's impartiality has been scrutinized both before and after these incidents, he has placed the blame solely on his wife. Reportedly, he has claimed no involvement in displaying the flags and stated that Martha-Ann had put them up during an argument with their neighbors over their political alignments.

The New York Times further reported that Justice Alito's wife had been harassing neighbors over a "F--k Trump" sign displayed on their lawn.

While his wife may be at fault for the flag incidents, Justice Alito's reputation is far from spotless. In 2022, he was part of the majority vote that overturned Roe v. Wade and the right to abortion for U.S. citizens. On May 30, 2024, it was also reported that he failed to recuse himself from overseeing Jan. 6 cases despite the ongoing controversy surrounding the aforementioned flags.

Though Justice Alito's own impartiality is up for debate, he clearly isn't afraid to throw his wife under the bus amid all of it.