Alito neighbors say vulgarity came after upside-down flag was flown

A Fairfax County, Va., couple claims the worst in a series of ugly encounters with Martha-Ann Alito, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, happened after an upside-down American flag was flown outside the justice’s house, not before, as the justice has said.

Earlier this month, the New York Times reported that Alito’s household flew the upside-down flag, which symbolizes the “Stop the Steal” campaign, in January 2021. Alito said the flag was flown by his wife in a dispute with neighbors.

The Times then reported that a second flag associated with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and a Christian nationalist movement was flown at Alito’s New Jersey vacation home in July and September 2023.

Alito has been sharply criticized in the aftermath of the reports. Democrats are calling for him to recuse himself from cases related to Jan. 6 and former President Trump.

Alito has not commented on the second flag.

The Times reported that neighbor Emily Baden and her then-boyfriend, who was not named by the news outlet, engaged in vulgar insults with Martha-Ann Alito over political differences. But Baden, who was living with her mother, Barbara Baden, provided a different timeline from Alito’s and said she did not see the upside-down flag.

The Times found that a phone call from Baden’s then-boyfriend to local police was made Feb. 15, 2021, weeks after the flag was taken down, about the dispute.

Alito claimed that the dispute began when a neighbor posted an anti-Trump sign in their yard in January 2021.

Martha-Ann Alito complained to the neighbor, and the situation escalated. Alito said a male neighbor called his wife the “C-word,” and after the exchange, his distraught wife hung the flag.

According to the Badens, Martha-Ann Alito initiated the conflict.

“Aside from putting up a sign, we did not begin or instigate any of these confrontations,” Baden told the Times.

After the 2020 presidential election was called for President Biden, Baden posted homemade signs outside their house that read “Bye Don” and “F‑‑‑ Trump.”

Following the Jan. 6 riots, Baden and her partner posted signs that said “Trump is a fascist” and “you are complicit.” Baden said the second sign wasn’t directed toward Alito, but Republicans in general who didn’t condemn the attack.

On Jan. 17, 2021, the flag was flown outside the Alito home, but Baden said she never saw it. On Biden’s Inauguration Day, Baden said Matha-Ann Alito ran toward their car and spit as they drove by.

In mid-February, the Alitos were on a walk when Martha-Ann Alito addressed Baden and her partner and said they were fascists. Samuel Alito stayed quiet, but Baden said she snapped back at the couple.

She told the Times she remembers saying something along the lines of, “How dare you behave this way. You’ve been harassing us, over signs. You represent the highest court in the land. Shame on you.”

Baden said she will “fully” accept that she called Martha-Ann Alito the lewd expression Alito referred to but attributed to her partner. Baden’s partner then called the police to document the encounter.