OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki did not take kindly to questions asked by a Fox News reporter about protests being held outside the homes of conservative Supreme Court Justices.
During her press briefing on Monday the press secretary, whose last day is on Friday, bristled at the questions posed by Fox News White House correspondent Alexandria Hoff.
But the questioning was started by AP correspondent Will Weissert who pointed to a Virginia law that prohibits that type of protesting.
“You suggested that peacefully protesting outside the homes of judges and Supreme Court justices is part of freedom of expression and part of, sort of, what we do in the United States. But there’s a law of Virginia that actually prohibits protests outside private residences, even when done peacefully. So I’m wondering if any sort of demonstrations outside of private homes might run afoul of that law and other laws like it in other parts of the country,” he said.
“We’re certainly not suggesting anyone break any laws. I would note that the President’s view has long been — and I tweeted this earlier this morning and repeated — and made a number of these comments last week as well that violence, threats, and intimidation have no place in political discourse,” the press secretary said.
“Yes, we are a country that promotes democracy, and we certainly allow for peaceful protest in a range of places in the country. None of it should violate the law; no one is suggesting that. And it should never resort to violence, to threats, to intimidation in any way, shape, or form. But that is what our position is and the President’s position is,” she insisted.
In the tweet she made reference to she did condemn any acts of violence associated with the protests.
“.@POTUS strongly believes in the Constitutional right to protest. But that should never include violence, threats, or vandalism. Judges perform an incredibly important function in our society, and they must be able to do their jobs without concern for their personal safety,” she said.
.@POTUS strongly believes in the Constitutional right to protest. But that should never include violence, threats, or vandalism. Judges perform an incredibly important function in our society, and they must be able to do their jobs without concern for their personal safety.
— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) May 9, 2022
But her feet were held to the fire Hoff.
“Does the President plan to condemn the leak of the Supreme Court draft opinion or the doxing of the justices, now that we’ve seen violence unfold?” she said.
“Well, I would say that we have been clear and the President’s position has long been that we should not see protests that takes the form of violence, that takes the form of vandalism, and that threatens anyone. That has long been his position for his entire career and continues to be his position,” she said, as she did not condemn the leak.
“We have not seen violence or vandalism against Supreme Court justices. We have seen it at Catholic churches. That’s unacceptable. The President does not support that.
“We have seen it at some conservative organizations. That — we don’t support that. And we certainly call for — we know the passion. We understand the passion. We understand the concern. But what the President’s position is that that should be peaceful — the protests,” she said.
Last week Psaki was asked by EWTN reporter Owen Jensen about “A Catholic church was just vandalized with pro-abortion slogans in Colorado. It just happened recently. Is the White House aware of that, first of all?”
“I’ve not seen that report. Obviously, we don’t condone vandalism. We condone peaceful protest, and that’s something certainly we’re encouraging with everybody who feels passionate,” the press secretary said.
“What would you say to those vandals going after — targeting Catholic churches, especially when it involves Roe? That’s what they’re basically focusing on,” the reporter said.
“Again, we don’t condone vandalism. We condone peaceful protest,” the press secretary said.
“I think it’s important to note that 60 percent or 70 percent, depending on the poll you look at, of the American people, do not want Roe to be overturned,” she said.
