Supreme Court's Alito blames his wife for displaying pro-Trump symbol at their house

Justice Alito told The New York Times an upside-down American flag flying in his yard was "briefly placed" by his wife.

• Justice Alito and his wife had an upside-down American flag flying on their lawn in January 2021.
• Inverted flags were a symbol of the pro-Trump "Stop the Steal" movement.
• Justice Alito told The New York Times his wife put it there and blamed a dispute with neighbors. 

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito had an explanation for the pro-Trump symbol hanging outside his Virginia home in the weeks following the Capitol Riot: his wife put it there.

The New York Times first reported that an upside-down American flag was displayed at the conservative justice's property in January 2021, just weeks after the Capitol riot.

Inverted flags were a symbol used by the "Stop the Steal" movement, according to the Times, which falsely claims President Joe Biden didn't legitimately win the 2020 election.

The flag reportedly flew in the Alitos' yard while the court was deciding whether to hear cases about the election's legitimacy. The Supreme Court ultimately declined to hear the cases; Alito dissented at the time and wanted to take up the cases.

US flag code says the American flag shouldn't be flow upside down unless "except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property."

But when asked by the Times about the flag, Alito blamed his wife.

"I had no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag," Justice Alito told the Times in an email. "It was briefly placed by Mrs. Alito in response to a neighbor's use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs."

Justice Alito's wife, Martha-Ann, had clashed with a neighbor who displayed an anti-Trump sign using an expletive, according to the Times.

The pro-Trump symbol is ethically questionable because Supreme Court Justices are supposed to maintain neutrality with respect to issues that could come before them, according to experts cited by the Times and the court's own Code of Conduct.

Another of the Supreme Court's conservative justices, Clarence Thomas, is facing accusations of unethical behavior himself. A series of ProPublica investigations revealed Thomas had accepted lavish gifts and vacations from a wealthy GOP donor but didn't disclose them.

Thomas denied any wrongdoing, and the donor said Thomas was simply a friend.

The Supreme Court's public information office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

The court is expected to rule in June on its first January 6 case — a crucial decision that could upend the obstruction charges against Trump and hundreds of rioters, many of whom have already been convicted.

The Supreme Court is also deciding on a challenge from Trump himself, whose lawyers argued to the justices that he is immune from criminal prosecution for anything he did while in office.

Trump is facing felony charges accusing him of attempting to subvert the 2020 election results during his final days as president.