The Supreme Court’s chief security officer has written letters asking top officials in Maryland and Virginia to direct police to enforce laws she says prohibit picketing in the suburbs of Supreme Court justices, after weeks of rights protests of abortions. In four separate letters addressed to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R), Montgomery County Supervisor Mark Elrich (R), Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngin (R) and Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeffrey McKay (R ), Supreme Court Marshal Gail Curley said protests and “threatening” activity have increased since May at the justices’ homes. “For weeks on end, large groups of protesters chanting slogans, using bullhorns and beating drums have picketed the homes of judges in Maryland,” the letter to Hogan said. “Earlier this week, for example, 75 protesters loudly picketed the home of a Justice in Maryland for 20-30 minutes at night, then proceeded to picket the home of another Justice for 30 minutes, where the crowd grew to 100 and eventually returned to the first house of Justice for another 20 minutes. This is exactly the type of conduct that Maryland and Montgomery County laws prohibit.” Youngkin, Hogan Ask Justice Department to End Protests at Judges’ Homes The marshal cited Maryland law, which states that “a person may not knowingly congregate with another in a manner that disturbs a person’s right to peace in his home” and that the law “provides up to 90 days in jail or a fine of 100 $. “ The Maryland letters, reviewed by the Washington Post and dated July 1, also cite a Montgomery County law that says “no person or group of persons shall demonstrate in front of or adjacent to any private residence,” as well as a law which says a group can march through a residential area “without stopping at any particular private residence.” Michael Ricci, Hogan’s communications director, pushed back at Curley in a response Saturday afternoon on Twitter. “Had the marshal taken the time to investigate the matter, she would have learned that the constitutionality of the statute referenced in her letter has been challenged by the Maryland Attorney General’s office,” he wrote. Ricci noted that Hogan and Youngkin had previously written to Attorney General Merrick Garland “to enforce the clear and unequivocal federal statutes on the books prohibiting picketing of judges’ residences.” Garland refused, Ritchie said. “In light of the continued refusal of many federal entities to act, the governor has directed the Maryland State Police to further review enforcement options that respect the First Amendment and the Constitution,” he wrote. Outside the Cavanaugh home, a neighbor is protesting for abortion rights Maryland resident Nadine Seiler was among the 75 protesters listed in the marshal’s letter to Hogan. He said the protest groups that come out on a weekly basis are usually as few as 15 people, but the crowd this week swelled because of the court reversal. Roe v. Wade. Some neighbors, Seiler said, came out of their homes to join the protests. Police handed out documentation of the protest laws, and to keep them, protesters walked in single file on a sidewalk, but did not stop in front of any particular house, Seiler said. Seiler said they “make noise” but operate under Maryland’s noise ordinance before 9 p.m. “We’re within the law,” Seiler said. “They’re proving us right — that we have to be out there to preserve our First Amendment right, or we wouldn’t have it.” The letters to Youngkin and McKay were released by the court on Saturday. Abortion rights advocates had initially taken to the streets outside the justices’ homes after the Supreme Court’s draft opinion signaled it planned to overturn Roe v. Wade leaked to Politico in May. Protesters continued to gather outside homes again in June, when the 49-year-old ruling guaranteeing a person’s constitutional right to an abortion was officially overturned. After the leaked plan was made public, but before the court issued its opinion Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a California man was arrested near Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh’s home in Chevy Chase and charged with attempted murder of the judge. Nicholas Roske is accused of flying to Maryland with a gun and burglary tools with plans to break into Cavanaugh’s home to kill him. Prosecutors said he was angry about the leaked draft and the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Roske pleaded not guilty. “Maryland and Montgomery County laws provide the tools to prevent picketing activity at judges’ homes and should be enforced without delay,” said one of the letters from Curley, who is also leading the leak investigation. of Politico. Continued protests outside judges’ homes have sparked a legal debate over whether laws banning picketing outside judges’ private homes are constitutional. It was not immediately clear Friday whether officials or law enforcement had received the marshal’s letter or how they plan to respond to the request. Maryland State Police, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department, representatives for Hogan and Elrich and the United States Supreme Court did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the letter Friday night. “The Montgomery County Police Department is committed to upholding the First Amendment rights of all individuals who wish to participate in peaceful, lawful protests and assemblies,” the police department’s website states on its home page. It also links to a list of protest laws “to assist in the education of the community”, including those mentioned in the Supreme Court marshal’s letters. “Peaceful, lawful protest and assembly is a cornerstone of our democracy,” the document on the county police website reads. Curley’s letters quoted previous comments from Hogan and Elrich about protests at the judges’ home, including a statement from a Hogan press release that said, “We will continue to work with both federal and local law enforcement officials to ensure that these residential areas are safe.” In the letter to Elrich, Curley said a request was made in May to the county police department to enforce the Montgomery County ordinance. The letter also cited a news story in which a Montgomery County official said people “can’t statically protest in front of someone’s house for political reasons” and that generally protesters are told they have to move and can’t stay in a only place for a long time. He also cited a letter published in The Washington Post from the author of the county ordinance urging the county executive and police departments to enforce the law. “It is against the law in Montgomery County to negotiate in a person’s home about a matter involving a person’s work,” the letter said, citing former Councilwoman Gail Ewing. This story will be updated.
