| At least some of the protesters are being supplied by Black Bloc organizations like Black Lives Matter and Code Pink. See here for details. |
- Workers erected massive fencing around the perimeter of the Supreme Court building on Wednesday evening in the fallout of the Roe v. Wade leak
- Fencing is similar to what was put up around the U.S. Capitol following the January 6, 2021 riot
- The tall, un-scalable barriers are meant to keep pro- and anti-abortion demonstrators clear of the building
- Clashes got increasingly violent in recent days, causing Metro Police to activate protest units
- A leak Monday evening shows a draft opinion signaling an impending overturn of 50-year-old landmark abortion rights ruling from Roe v. Wade
- Pro-abortion activists are organizing 'walk by' protests of Justices' homes next week in Virginia and Maryland
In the fallout from the leak, Alito scrapped plans to participate in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals judicial conference starting on Thursday, as the associate justice is tasked with reviewing emergency appeals from the 5th Circuit.
It is still unclear if Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Clarence Thomas, who were slated to get remarks at a similar conference for the 11th Circuit on Thursday and Friday, will still appear.
Senator John Cornyn introduced a bill Thursday to provide additional protections for Supreme Court justice, including 24/7 security detail.
'It's not just an attack against the independence of the judiciary. This risks violence against members of the Supreme Court and their families,' Cornyn said upon introducing the bill.
For years the FBI has tracked extremists on both sides of the abortion issue.
The bureau's Domestic Terrorism Reference Guide on Abortion-Related Extremists was widely circulated in November 2021 and looks at the threats stemming from both sides of the heated argument.
'Abortion-related violent extremists seek to further their pro-life or pro-choice ideologies through the threat or use of force or violence against individuals or facilities which provide services in opposition of their beliefs,' the guide notes.
It adds: 'Pro-life extremists believe force or violence is necessary to save the lives of the unborn. Pro-choice extremists believe it is their moral duty to protect those who provide or receive reproductive health care services.'