Virginia Gov Youngkin Says AG Garland Not Going to Enforce Law Preventing Protests Outside Justices’ Homes

Virginia’s governor is skeptical that the country’s top law enforcement official is going to make sure laws are upheld evenly.

Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin told Jesse Watters he doesn’t think Attorney General Merrick Garland is going to enforce the law when it comes to protesters picketing outside the homes of Supreme Court justices.

“Gov. Hogan and I have absolutely demanded that Attorney General Garland enforce the federal statute, which is to put people in jail for parading and picketing in front of the justices’ homes,” Youngkin said Wednesday night. “I don’t think he will, and he absolutely should. It’s clear in the statute that that’s illegal, and he should enforce it.”

YOUNGKIN SEEKS ‘EXPANDED SECURITY PERIMETER’ FOR THREE SUPREME COURT JUSTICES

Youngkin and Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD) wrote a joint letter to Garland on May 11, noting that “federal law prohibits picketing the home of a judge with the aim to influence the judge’s decision making process.”

Protesters have gathered outside the homes of Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts following the leak of a draft opinion suggesting that the court is preparing to overturn the landmark abortion ruling in Roe v. Wade later this year.

U.S. marshals are providing “around-the-clock” security service at all nine of the Supreme Court justices’ homes, Garland’s Department of Justice announced Wednesday night.

The ramped-up protection came after Garland said there was a “rise of violence and unlawful threats” directed at public servants, while his department’s announcement came after Youngkin made his comments on Watters’s show.

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Youngkin insisted that his calling for prosecutions was not infringing on anyone’s right to protest but noted he is concerned about the same violence Garland described being threatened against justices.

“The reality is as we head into this final decision, we in Virginia are preparing to make sure that, yes, people are allowed to exercise their First Amendment rights,” Youngkin said. “We will protect people’s rights to exercise their First Amendment rights, but we will not allow violence, we will not allow looting, and we will make sure that the law is upheld.”