White House press secretary Jen Psaki refused on Thursday to condemn left-wing protesters who are intimidating Supreme Court justices by protesting near their personal residences.
What did Psaki say?
Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy asked Psaki about the Biden administration’s position on the protesters — but all she did was affirm that they are “peaceful” protests.
“You guys had some time yesterday talking about what you think are the extreme wings of the Republican Party. Do you think the progressive activists that are now planning protests outside some of the justices’ houses are extreme?” Doocy asked.
“Peaceful protest? No. Peaceful protest is not extreme,” Psaki replied.
When Doocy noted that some of the Supreme Court justices have young kids, Psaki still refused to condemn the protests.
“Look, I think our view here is that peaceful protest — there’s a long history in the United States and the country of that, and we certainly encourage people to keep it peaceful and not resort to any level of violence,” Psaki said.
05/05/22: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki
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The fact that protesters have even circulated the addresses of the justices online, which Doocy pointed out, did not stir Psaki to condemn the intimidation tactics.
Instead, Psaki focused on the “sadness” and “fear” that Americans have over U.S. abortion rights — which are among the most extreme in the world — potentially being scaled back.
“Look, I think the president’s view is that there’s a lot of passion, a lot of fear, a lot of sadness from many, many people across this country about what they saw in that leaked document,” Psaki said. “We obviously want people’s privacy to be respected. We want people to protest peacefully if they want to protest. That is certainly what the president’s view would be.”
“So he doesn’t care if they’re protesting outside the Supreme Court or outside someone’s private residence?” Doocy fired back.
“I don’t have an official U.S. government position on where people protest,” Psaki conceded.
“But I think we shouldn’t lose the point here: The reason people are protesting is because women across the country are worried about their fundamental rights that have been law for 50 years,” she continued. “Their rights to make choices about their own bodies and their own health care are at risk. That’s why people are protesting. They’re unhappy. They’re scared.”
The intimidation tactics have resulted in each Supreme Court justice receiving extra security. CBS News reported that, in addition to their homes being targeted, some justices have even received “more targeted personal phone threats.”