Fencing around Supreme Court removed

A seven-foot black security fence that wrapped around the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. — set up after a draft opinion leaked showing justices preparing to overturn Roe v. Wade — has been removed.

Images captured by The Associated Press indicated the fencing was completely removed nearly four months after security officials first erected it.

The fencing went up in May, just days after Politico published the draft opinion showing the court’s conservative majority was prepared to overturn Roe v. Wade and end the nearly 50-year constitutional right to abortion.

Large crowds of protesters quickly gathered at the building to object to the coming decision and pressed against smaller, crowd-controlling barriers.

The Supreme Court also halted unauthorized foot traffic into the building at the time.

Court security officials kept the fencing up well after the June 24 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that officially overturned Roe v. Wade, as many Americans traveled to demonstrate in response to the court’s decision before protests subsided in D.C.

Over the summer, authorities said a California man arrived near the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, planning to kill Kavanaugh and other justices, before the man turned himself in to police.