Who is Martha-Ann Alito, wife of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito? She’s at the centre of controversy after flying the American flag upside down, like the Capitol rioters … but why?
- It started when neighbours put up provocative yard signs after the 2020 US presidential election – she then flew the American flag upside down
- Martha-Ann enjoyed a nomadic childhood – her father was an air controller in the air force, she calls a town in Germany home and she graduated in the UK
US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is facing increasing backlash over a controversial flag raised outside his home. At the centre of the controversy is his wife Martha-Ann who has mostly remained out of the spotlight despite her husband’s influential position. Until now.
Earlier this year, photos were published of the “upside-down” American flag flown at the Alitos’ home in Virginia in 2021 – rioters at the Capitol attacks had carried the flag in a similar manner in protest against the election result.
According to Alito and neighbours, the raising of the upside down flag was at the behest of Martha-Ann – and calls for Alito to withdraw himself from cases related to the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, have been stonewalled by him.
But then Alito is no stranger to controversy – he wrote the opinion overturning Roe vs Wade in 2022, one of the most controversial decisions by the court in decades. Now, it is his wife in the eye of the storm. Here is what you need to know.
It started with the neighbours
According to The New York Times, the flag fight started with an argument between Martha-Ann and neighbours. Per The Hill, neighbour Emily Baden and her then partner, who has not been identified, put up yard signs saying “Bye Don” and “F*** Trump” after US President Joe Biden won the election in 2020. After the Capitol riots, the couple posted more signs that read “You are complicit”.
It was then that the inverted American flag was flown outside the Alito home.
Per The Hill, Baden claims Martha-Ann later spat on their car as they drove by, and called them “fascists” while out on a walk, as well as cursing them heavily. It was then that police were called about the incident. Although there was no charges, the incident report has since been leaked.
Justice Samuel Alito isn’t afraid to defend his wife
