OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Legislation sent to President Joe Biden’s desk on Thursday is the latest sign of a bitterly divided nation.
Before departing for Delaware again, Biden signed a measure providing additional security measures to U.S. Supreme Court justices and their families. The bill comes following the discovery of an assassination plot against Justice Brett Kavanaugh earlier this month.
The Washington Examiner reports:
The bill, co-sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), was passed by the House earlier this week, and the Senate approved the measure last month. The law will add an amendment to Title 40 of the U.S. Code, to provide the Supreme Court with “security-related authorities equivalent to the legislative and executive branches.”
Now, any “immediate family” members of the high court justices can be covered by the security presently provided to justices if the marshal of the Supreme Court “determines such protection is necessary,” according to the text of the legislation.
“Previously, the protection followed the justice, so, for example, if the justice traveled from their home to the court, their family at home was no longer protected. This extends that protection to their families,” a representative from Cornyn’s office told the outlet.
Biden’s signature on the bill comes a day after the Kavanaugh suspect, 26-year-old Nicholas Roske was indicted for planning to kill the justice, according to a reported confession.
“Roske, a 26-year-old white man, had a Glock 17 pistol, ammunition, a knife, zip ties, pepper spray, duct tape, and other items that he told police he would use to break into Kavanaugh’s house and kill him, according to a criminal complaint and affidavit filed in federal court in Maryland,” the Washington Examiner noted in a separate report.
“Roske said he purchased the gun specifically to kill Kavanaugh and that he also planned to then kill himself, according to the affidavit written by FBI agent Ian Montijo, who also interviewed Roske early Wednesday after he had confessed his plan to police,” the report added.
“Police said they searched the bag and suitcase that Roske showed up with and found two magazines and ammunition to go along with the suspect’s freshly purchased pistol, a pistol light, a black tactical chest rig, a tactical knife, and pepper spray,” the report continued.
“He also had on him what seemed to be likely burglary tools, including a hammer, screwdriver, nail punch, crowbar, and hiking boots with padding on the outside of the soles. Roske also had zip ties and duct tape.”
The assassination attempt angered many Republicans, some of whom accused Democrats of inciting the plot.
For instance, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) blasted Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) over what he saw as a thinly veiled threat against both Kavanaugh and Justice Neil Gorsuch if they joined a ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade.
A reporter asked him if he believed politicians are “more focused protecting themselves rather than the citizens they serve,” which got him to talking about the enforcement of laws, Mediaite reported.
“I think, unfortunately for the left, the law is viewed as optional,” he said. “If they disagree with the law, they refuse to enforce it. Whether it is the federal criminal law that protects these children or whether it is the federal criminal law that protects Supreme Court Justices.”
“We saw just yesterday a man arrested for attempted murder of a Supreme Court Justice. That crime was actively encouraged by elected Democrats,” the senator said. “Chuck Schumer went to the steps of the Supreme Court and threatened the Justices.
“The White House actively encouraged protesters to go to the home of Supreme Court justices, despite the fact that it is there’s a federal criminal prohibition on doing so while a court case is pending – the only time that I’m aware of where the White House, literally from the White House press room, has encouraged the ongoing commission of a felony,” he continued.
“And even today, the Department of Justice has not arrested the protesters that are violating criminal law on its face because the president and the attorney general agree with their politics,” he said. “Well, the law is meant to be applied regardless of party.”
