‘Bizarrely embarrassing and infantile’: Right wing site slammed for selling ‘Alito flags'

A right-wing website is selling flags to honor Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, after he appears to have made several false statements, including in a letter to Congress, about why flags associated with the January 6 insurrection and the "Stop the Steal" conspiracy movement were flying at his homes.The Bush-43 appointed jurist has been accused of either being mistaken or "lying" about events, by a former neighbor.A former neighbor of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said, “at worst, he's just outright lying,” about his account of a neighborhood dispute that led to hoisting an upside-down American flag at his Virginia home.@GeoffRBennett speaks to @LisaDNews for more. pic.twitter.com/yW322G37ti— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) June 6, 2024In claims called into question by facts, including a police report and eyewitness reports, Justice Alito alleged his wife flew an upside down American flag outside their Virginia home, and another flag associated with both the insurrection and the far-right Christian nationalist movement outside their New Jersey beach house.RELATED: Alito’s Opinion in a 2022 Christian Flag Case Flies in the Face of His Recusal RefusalDemocrats on Capitol Hill and many Americans on the left have been outraged for weeks, not only because the flags are symbols of the deadly January 6, 2021 insurrection and were carried by some who attacked the Capitol and American democracy, but also because Justice Alito refuses to recuse from any cases associated with that fatal day, or with the leader of that day's events, Donald Trump.Now, the right wing website National Review is selling flags honoring the Supreme Court justice and invoking the two insurrectionist symbols. They are $197 each."National Review is delighted to announce new 'Alito flags' based on honored colonial-era American flags and fashioned to show support for the Supreme Court justice," the website published in an article.And while NR publisher Rich Lowry, a frequent guest on NBC News' "Meet the Press," claims the "beautiful flags ... hearken back to some of the most stirring symbols of the American Revolution," the advertorial ignores almost entirely the actual controversy surrounding the two flags that flew at the Alitos' homes.“These are beautiful flags that hearken back to some of the most stirring symbols of the American Revolution."@RichLowry loves our "Alito Flags" and now you too can show your support for the Supreme Court justice amidst sustained attacks from Democrats.https://t.co/DWtZM9qXVw pic.twitter.com/BsCxWv9gf2— National Review (@NRO) June 7, 2024NR instead points to the alleged historic nature of their original designs.RELATED: ‘Liar’: Critics Question Alito’s Integrity After His Insurrection Flag Story Disintegrates"One flag is loosely based on the 'Appeal to Heaven' flag that was commissioned by George Washington during the American Revolution, and the other on the Bennington battle flag, a banner associated with the revolutionary battle that took place in 1777 near Bennington, Vt.," NR staff write.They also include some snark."Both are perfectly suited for showing you have the back of Justice Alito as he comes under sustained attack for flags flown by his wife Martha-Ann Alito; for demonstrating a commitment to originalist jurisprudence; for rejecting politically motivated calls for Alito and other conservative justices to recuse themselves; and yes, for — as circumstances warrant — trolling obnoxious left-wing neighbors who engage in political provocations and then play the victim."And an outright attack on the left."Democrats have gone too far with their attacks on the Supreme Court and it's time to take a stand," NR said on Friday on social media.Former Republican and former U.S. Congressman Denver Riggleman called the flags, "just bizarrely embarrassing and infantile. Unserious."Epoch Times gets dropped and National Review takes the baton.This is just bizarrely embarrassing and infantile. Unserious. https://t.co/dMPB8epjX7— Denver Riggleman (@RepRiggleman) June 7, 2024Some pointed out defacing or putting someone's face an American flag is both disrespectful and may violate flag code."Congratulations to the American left on winning football, Bud Light, and the undefaced Stars and Stripes in the culture wars," wrote The New Republic's Matt Ford.The Bulwark's Matt Stokes just commented, "So, so lame."Jay Willis, editor-in-chief of the legal news outlet Balls and Strikes, offered this opinion:Selling special edition “Alito Flags” is the kind of shit you do when you don’t have a single person on staff born after 1957 pic.twitter.com/5XzFT8rHXU— Jay Willis (@jaywillis) June 7, 2024See the social media posts above or at this link.READ MORE: ‘No Moral Compass’: Legal Experts Call for Intervention After Alito Refuses to Recuse