Pro-choice protests at Supreme Court justices' homes breaks federal law: Bill Barr
18 USC 1503 prohibits 'endeavors to influence, intimidate or impede... officers of [the] court'.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr said some pro-choice protests may be violations of longstanding federal law Monday on "Jesse Watters Primetime."
Barr, who served under Presidents George H.W. Bush and Trump, told Fox News intimidating justices is "not [a] valid" form of protest, which federal statute highlights.
Under 18 US Code 1503, "whoever corruptly or by threats or force… endeavors to influence, intimidate, or impede any grand or petit juror, or officer in or of any court of the United States… in the discharge of his duty… influences, obstructs, or impedes, or endeavors to influence, obstruct, or impede the due administration of justice shall be punished."
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Demonstrators at the U.S. Supreme Court, May 4, 2022. (AP/Alex Brandon)
"That's not a valid form of protest because it's a violation of the law," Barr said after viewing video of demonstrators outside the Maryland homes of Justices John Roberts Jr. and Brett Kavanaugh.
"There's a time and place for protest. And the federal statute makes it clear that if you go to the house of a judge, the residence of a judge, to influence the judge in his decisions and demonstrate that that's a federal crime."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}When asked if he expects his successor, Merrick Garland, to seek prosecution of the protesters under the federal statute, Barr predicted otherwise.
He added liberal Democrats are exposed for their "hypocrisy" on violence, saying they continue to wield it as a "political tool."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}William Barr served as attorney general for Presidents George H.W. Bush and Donald Trump. (Michael Reynolds/Pool-AP)
He cited several attacks on Trump supporters in California and New Mexico. In late 2021, two Delaware women also pleaded guilty to hate-crime charges following attacks on Trump supporters during then-candidate Biden's DNC address in Wilmington.
"That's essentially what the left is all about: Anything goes because they're holy, they're virtuous, and they know they're… the vanguard of history. And they know what's best for everyone," Barr said.
"So if you oppose them, if you get in their way, you can be rolled over. The ends justify the means. And this is the ultimate expression of it," he said.