Bombshell Roe leak made justices 'targets for assassination,' Alito says


Justice Samuel Alito, who penned the draft majority opinion overturning abortion protections under Roe v. Wade (1973), believes the bombshell leak of the related ruling — Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization — put the Supreme Court's members at risk of assassination, he said Tuesday in a public interview at the conservative Heritage Foundation.
"It was a grave betrayal of trust by somebody," Alito said, per The New York Times. "It was a shock, because nothing like that had happened in the past. It certainly changed the atmosphere at the court for the remainder of last term."
"The leak also made those of us who were thought to be in the majority in support of overruling Roe and [Planned Parenthood v. Casey] targets for assassination because it gave people a rational reason to think they could prevent that from happening by killing one of us," he continued, pointing to the armed man arrested near Justice Brett Kavanaugh's home and later charged with attempted murder. "Among other things, the man said he was upset with the leaked draft suggesting the court would overturn Roe, the police have said," the Times summarizes.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Though Politico published a draft in early May, Alito's official majority opinion was handed down in June. In addition to protections under Roe, Dobbs overturned Casey, which "reaffirmed Roe's core holding" in 1992, the Times writes.
Alito also on Tuesday took issue with attacks on the court's legitimacy following the leak and ruling.
"Everybody in this country is free to disagree with our decisions," he said Tuesday. "To say that the court is exhibiting a lack of integrity is something quite different. ... It goes to character."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
The First Homosexuals: The Birth of a New Identity, 1869–1939
Feature Wrightwood 659, Chicago, through Aug. 2
-
Why the FDA wants to restrict kratom-related products
In the Spotlight The compound is currently sold across the United States
-
Israeli NGOs have started referring to Gaza as a 'genocide' — will it matter?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION For the first time since fighting began in 2023, two Israeli rights groups have described their country's actions in the Gaza Strip as 'genocide' while famine threatens the blockaded Palestinian territory
-
Thailand, Cambodia agree to ceasefire in border fight
Speed Read At least 38 people were killed and more than 300,000 displaced in the recent violence
-
Israel 'pauses' Gaza military activity as aid outcry grows
Speed Read The World Health Organization said malnutrition has reached 'alarming levels' in Gaza
-
US and EU reach trade deal
Speed Read Trump's meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen resulted in a tariff agreement that will avert a transatlantic trade war
-
At least 12 dead in Thai-Cambodian clashes
Speed Read Both countries accused the other of firing first
-
US and Japan strike trade deal
Speed Read Trump signed what he's calling the 'largest deal ever made'
-
28 nations condemn Israel's 'inhumane killing' in Gaza
Speed Read Countries including Australia, France, Japan and the U.K. have released a joint statement condemning Israel's ongoing attacks
-
Israeli gunfire kills dozens at Gaza aid site
Speed Read The U.N. estimates that at least 875 Palestinians have died while trying to access food in recent months
-
Rubio says US brokered end to Syria conflict
Speed Read Syria's defense ministry was targeted in Israeli attacks on the capital