Senate passes bill to give police protection to families of Supreme Court justices

By Ayana Archie

Published May 10, 2022 at 12:38 AM PDT

Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, left and his wife Virginia Thomas, right, leave the the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington after attending funeral services of the late Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, on Feb. 20, 2016.

A bill to grant security for the families of U.S. Supreme Court justices unanimously passed the Senate Monday.

The Supreme Court Police Parity Act would provide police protection to the immediate families of the nine justices and other officers of the court, if the "Marshal determines such protection is necessary," the legislation says.

The bill, which was introduced by Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, will now go before the House of Representatives.

"Threats to the physical safety of Supreme Court Justices and their families are disgraceful, and attempts to intimidate and influence the independence of our judiciary cannot be tolerated," Cornyn said in a statement.

The bill follows a leak last week of a draft Supreme Court opinion that, if unchanged, would overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case that federally legalized abortions.

A protest and vigil against the move was organized at Justice Samuel Alito's house Monday.

Marching to Alito’s neighborhood #bansoffourbodies pic.twitter.com/QaPyS7ajzx
— ShutDownDC (@ShutDown_DC) May 9, 2022

"Because it's been impossible to reach him at the Supreme Court (especially now with the enormous fences), we will do it at his home," said the event's organizer, ShutDownDC.

The Supreme Court Police Parity Act is an amendment of existing legislation that provides police protection to the justices.