ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A few dozen protesters marched down a quiet, dead-end street in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County Monday night and stopped in front of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's home. With police both blocking traffic and standing guard outside Alito's home, the protesters chanted, gave speeches, and held a moment of silence all in response to a leaked draft opinion by the conservative justice that called for the overturning of the abortion rights case Roe vs. Wade.
With the White House warning against "violence, threats, or vandalism" after previous protests other justice's homes some of Alito's neighbors joined the march to his house.
Others, weren't so sure about a protest at a private residence.
"As a neighbor it's a little upsetting," said a woman who lives a few doors down from Alito and asked to not use her name. "But...it's what's going on in this country right now," she said as she greeted a protester who was apologizing to people on the street for the interruption and promising it wouldn't last long.
"His intrusion into our rights deserves some intrusion into his peace and comfort," said another protestor who only gave her first name, Stephanie.
"There's no danger to to the justice here. This is us demanding and screaming to pay attention to us finally," she said, adding, "...this is hardly, hardly a particularly dramatic act."
Protesters started and ended in the parking lot of a nearby Walgreens. The entire march lasted about an hour. One activist said it is likely not the last time they will be at the home of a Supreme Court Justice.
Prior to the protest
A group of activists announced plans to host a vigil outside Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's home in Alexandria, Virginia, on Monday evening.
According to the website shutdowndc.org, the group said the vigil was for "all these rights that Alito is threatening to take away."
Politco reported a week ago that Justice Alito's draft opinion would overturn Roe v. Wade.
“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” the draft opinion states. It was signed by Alito, a member of the court’s 6-3 conservative majority who was appointed by former President George W. Bush.
The group Shut Down DC said overturning Roe v. Wade doesn't just affect a woman's right to abortion but it could also be used to allow states to outlaw contraception, same-sex marriage, protections for people who identify as LGBTQIA+ and even interracial marriage.
The group claims they haven't been able to reach Alito at the Supreme Court.
Alito isn't the first justice to have protesters appear near his home. Over the weekend, dozens of pro-choice protesters showed up outside the homes of Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
For months, Lacie Wooten-Holway has been holding candlelight vigils in front of Justice Kavanagh’s home but since the leak, she says the crowd has gotten bigger. “If you take away our choices, we will riot,” said Wooten-Holway, who has had an abortion and is a sexual assault survivor.
Outgoing White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki tweeted Monday morning regarding the protests outside justices' homes, saying justices must be able to do their jobs without concern for their personal safety.
"POTUS strongly believes in the Constitutional right to protest," Psaki said. "But that should never include violence threats or vandalism.
The women's advocacy group Supermajority organized a rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court but they were met by anti-abortion activists.