Martha-Ann Alito, the wife of conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, is taking a lot of heat online over comments she made at a recent event that became public because the person she was talking to was secretly recording their conversation.
In the recording, she can be heard saying that, since she has to see Pride flags fly during the month of June, she likes to respond by putting up a Sacred Heart of Jesus flag at her home, or another one with the word “shame” written in Italian.
Documentary filmmaker Lauren Windsor, who is a liberal, posted the recording she made on her page on the social media platform X. While she was attending a dinner reception that was hosted by the Supreme Court Historical Society on June 3, she was posing as a Christian conservative.
Many people who have heard the clip said that what Alito said was both “horrible” and “vengeance-seeking.” Her supporters, though, fired back, saying that she has a right to express her feelings.
They added that June is also the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the Catholic calendar.
In the audio clip, Alito says:
“I want a Sacred Heart of Jesus flag because i Have to look across the lagoon at the Pride flag for the next month.”
She also discussed her husband when she said:
“He’s like, ‘Oh, please don’t put up a flag.’ I said, ‘I won’t do it because I’m deferring to you. But, when you are free of this nonsense, I’m putting it up, and I’m going to send them a message every day.’ Maybe every week, I’ll be changing the flags.
“They’ll be all kinds. I made a flag in my head. This is how I satisfy myself. I made a flag. It’s white and has yellow and orange flames around it. And in the middle is the word vergogna. Vergogna in Italian means shame … Shame, shame, shame on you.”
The Alitos have been the center of controversy for a few weeks now, as they have been accused of flying an upside down American flag as well as an “Appeal to Heaven” flag. Both of those are associated with the claims made by former President Donald Trump that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.
In the wake of that, the Supreme Court justice has refused to recuse himself from any case related to the election or the Capitol riot from 2021. He has said that “reasonable” people haven’t questioned whether he could remain impartial.
He’s blamed his wife, too, for flying the flag. As he wrote in a May 29 letter:
“As I have stated publicly, I had nothing whatsoever to do with the flying of that flag. I was not even aware of the upside-down flag until it was called to my attention. As soon as I saw it, I asked my wife to take it down, but for several days, she refused.”
