A left-wing group is devising a plan to shut down the Supreme Court in reaction to the leaked opinion that suggests Roe v. Wade will be overturned.
#ShutDownDC plans to block streets near the Court in D.C. as part of a plot to stop justices and their staff from having access to their chambers. Organizers recognize that their planned actions fall into illegality, and even acknowledged the probability of violent confrontations with police.
The Department of Homeland Security circulated a memo in May that put the Supreme Court on alert of threats. Law enforcement is currently looking at threats from pro-abortion individuals to justices and staff at the Court building.
“One of our goals would be to expand the current political crisis by shutting down the Supreme Court,” one of the plan’s organizers said in a briefing, according to the online Washington Free Beacon. The site also reported that “the group planned the blockade for Monday, June 13, a day when the Court will likely hand down opinions.”
According to the Beacon:
The Tuesday night briefing included more than 60 activists and was led by four or five organizers, some of whom concealed their identities. The presentation included a detailed “tactical” plan for blocking access to the Court’s underground parking garage, which is the primary entry and exit point for employees and justices.
The plan calls for demonstrators to obstruct two points near the Court on 2nd Street, and a third spot on A St., which bisects 2nd Street directly behind the Court building. A Street is a residential area, while 2nd Street is a busy commuter thoroughfare.
To coincide with the blockade, #ShutDownDC is planning a rally in front of the Court on First St., which lies between the U.S. Capitol and the Court’s marble plaza. Organizers described the rally as a “low-risk” location, in contrast to the blockade posts where they anticipate arrests and skirmishes with police.
“It’s possible we will see many different law enforcement agencies, as we’ve become used to,” an organizer said.
Among other agencies, the Capitol Police and Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department have jurisdiction over the area.
Although none of the organizers have made threats against specific justices, they outright admitted in their briefing that their tactics are illegal and that their goal is to disrupt the Court.
“In this space we may talk about some action ideas that stretch the bounds of constitutionally protected speech,” reads a slide obtained by the Free Beacon. “Avoid saying anything you wouldn’t want to see on Fox News.”
The website continues:
The briefing highlighted the group’s connections to other liberal judicial groups which mobilized following the leak of the draft opinion.
One organizer said that #ShutdownDC is behind demonstrations at the homes of justices thought to have joined the leaked opinion overturning Roe. A separate entity called Ruth Sent Us—named for the late justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg—has claimed responsibility for those events, a sign that the two groups are closely aligned.
“We were the first to hold an action at Brett Kavanaugh’s house, and then recently we held an action at Samuel Alito’s house,” the organizer bragged. She added that she was heartened to see new individuals joining their efforts at Tuesday’s presentation.
“This is a crisis moment for democracy and for our rights, so we need as many new folks leveling up in their mobilization as possible,” an organizer said.
Another organizer discussed an upcoming June summit on the Supreme Court hosted by the leftist group Demand Justice, which is funded with dark money. That organization did not confirm to the Beacon whether it is connected to #ShutDownDC.
#ShutdownDC’s plans put pressure on House Democrats to secure the Court. Earlier this month, Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) introduced a security bill in the Senate that passed free of opposition.
“This should not be about politics but about ensuring the safety of the nine individuals on the Supreme Court,” said a senior House staffer who handles domestic security while speaking to the Free Beacon. “It’s not a matter of safety for Speaker Pelosi; it’s political theater with real ramifications.”
But knowing how Democrats and their friends in D.C. law enforcement think, #ShutDownDC rioters are not likely to be tagged as “insurrectionists,” as Trump supporters on Jan. 6 were.
