Republican Alabama Sen. Katie Britt called on Attorney General Merrick Garland Tuesday to preserve records related to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) response to abortion activists protesting outside of Supreme Court justices’ homes.
For nearly two years, Garland has not provided answers about the DOJ’s “failure to enforce federal law” and crack down on protestors who picketed outside justices’ homes for months following the leak of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision in 2022, which also led to attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers and the attempted assassination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Britt wrote in a letter Tuesday.
“The retention of these records is important as I work with the incoming administration to continue pursuing oversight and investigation of this matter during the 119th Congress,” Britt told Garland in the letter.
Britt pressed Garland during a March 2023 hearing about training slides instructing U.S. Marshals not to arrest protestors outside justices’ homes. Garland, who had previously testified that Marshals had full authority to make arrest decisions, said he had never seen the slides.
Follow-up requests Britt made in a May 2023 letter also went unanswered by the DOJ, according to the letter.
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Sen. Britt Letter to AG Gar… by katelynn
“Despite repeated outreach from my office about the status of a response, my letter was ignored for almost a year before I raised the topic with you again during a hearing of the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee in April 2024,” Britt wrote in the letter Tuesday. “In the days following that hearing, I finally received a reply from DOJ – almost a year late – that did not even attempt to respond to any of the questions or requests I raised in my original letter.”
In May 2022, Politico published Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion of the Dobbs decision, which revealed the majority intended to overturn Roe v. Wade. Along with protests outside justices’ homes, the leak sparked attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers and organizations, including vandalizations and firebombings.
It is illegal under federal law to picket or parade near a justices’ home with the “intent of influencing any judge.”
Britt requested Garland preserve all “draft copies of training materials, guidance, post orders, or other documents” related to the DOJ’s enforcement of the federal statute that were reviewed by the Office of the Attorney General. She also asked Garland to preserve email and communication records from his office relating to the statute’s enforcement.
The DOJ didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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