DOJ Memos Dissuaded Marshals From Arresting Protestors at SCOTUS Justices’ Homes: Republican Senator

According to a Senate Republican, an internal Department of Justice (DOJ) memo prohibited U.S. Marshals from arresting protesters who violated laws by picketing in front of judges’ homes. Freshman Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) disclosed the details during a March 28 hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee. During this hearing, US Attorney General Merrick Garland testified about President Joe Biden’s proposed budget.

It was revealed in the hearing that U.S. Marshals were explicitly instructed not to arrest protesters at the homes of Supreme Court (SCOTUS) Justices. “People want justice to be blind,” said Sen. Britt.

Protesting near the homes of judges or Justices is prohibited under Section 1507 of the U.S. Code. However, when protestors demonstrated at the homes of conservative Justices in June 2022 over the leaked abortion decision, U.S. Marshals arrested only a few individuals in violation of this statute.

Sen. Britt revealed that this was not a mistake, but rather revealed a DOJ memo that had directly discouraged agents from making arrests under Section 1507. The memo instructed the Marshals to arrest protesters only as a “last resort” to protect the Justices.

Training materials used to instruct Marshals in protecting the SCOTUS Justices’ residences revealed that they were instructed to “avoid, unless absolutely necessary, any criminal enforcement action involving the protestors.” The Marshals were also explicitly directed not to enforce Section 1507 as training materials informed them that there “may be a First Amendment right” to protest at the homes of SCOTUS Justices.

During earlier testimony, Garland had claimed that the decision to arrest protesters rested with the U.S. Marshals. But Sen. Britt showed newly uncovered materials during the hearing that indicate that Marshals were “actively discouraged” from making arrests based on this statute.

Garland Claims Ignorance

When this issue was addressed during the hearing, Garland claimed that he had never seen the material before.

“This is the first time I’ve seen this slide,” Garland said.

Despite appearances to the contrary, Garland insisted that Marshals were still theoretically permitted to make arrests. He claimed that the Marshals could make arrests, even while their primary duty is to protect the lives and property of the Justices. The Senator concluded her questioning by urging Garland to investigate the issue and amend his comments to the Judiciary Committee, if needed.

Garland has been accused of partisan behavior by House Republicans, who are currently investigating the Weaponization of the Federal Government. Garland has consistently denied influencing arrests.