McConnell Urges House Dems to Pass Supreme Court Security Bill, Citing ‘Assassination Attempt’ against Justice Kavanaugh

Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday called on House Democrats to pass “common sense” legislation to enhance protection for Supreme Court justices after an alleged “assassination attempt” against Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

At 1:50 a.m. on Wednesday, a California man armed with a unspecified weapon was arrested near Kavanaugh’s home after telling police he wanted to kill the justice, the Washington Post first reported. 

The man, who was carrying burglary tools at the time of his arrest, was reportedly motivated by anger over a leaked draft opinion that indicated the Supreme Court may be poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, the report said.

McConnell responded to the news on Wednesday saying, “If these reports are correct, an assassination attempt against a sitting justice — or something close to it. This is exactly, exactly the kind of event that many feared that the terrible breach of the Court’s rules and norms could fuel.”

“This is exactly, exactly why the Senate passed legislation very shortly after the leak to enhance the police protection for justices and their families,” he added.

The Senate passed a bill on May 9 to provide around-the-clock security to the families of Supreme Court justices after the Dobbs v. Women’s Health Organization draft leak sparked protests outside of the conservative justices’ homes. While the measure had bipartisan support in the Senate, it has stalled in the Democrat-controlled House as some Democrats have argued the enhanced protections should extend not only to the justices, but to others who work within the Court. 

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D., Md.,) said in a statement last month that the security should also apply to law clerks and staff who “have increasingly faced threats to their physical safety.”

McConnell on Wednesday blasted Democrats for failing to pass the bill.

“This is common sense, non-controversial legislation that passed in this chamber, in this chamber unanimously,” McConnell said Wednesday. “But House Democrats have spent weeks blocking … the measure that passed here unanimously related to security for Supreme Court justices.”

He continued: “The House’s Democrats have refused to take it up. Now look … that needs to change and needs to change right now. Right now, House Democrats must pass this bill and they need to do it today. No more fiddling around with this. They need to pass it today.”

After the initial draft opinion leak, pro-abortion activists arranged several protests outside of the homes of the justices. Leftist group Ruth Sent Us posted what it claimed were the home addresses of the Court’s six conservative justices last month ahead of a “walk-by protest” at their homes.

Ruth Sent Us, along with Vigil for Democracy, created a a Google Maps graphic called, “Extremist Justices,” pinning what it claims are the home addresses of Justices Barrett, Kavanaugh, Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, and Roberts.

The group seemed to shrug off the near-attack on Kavanaugh on Wednesday.

“We are committed to non-violence. Fundamentalists will talk non-stop about how our peaceful protests inspired this, rather than the daily mass-murders in America,” Ruth Sent Us wrote in a tweet.

The group added: “Oh, what was this ‘weapon’ the ‘California man’ had? If it was a gun or even a knife, police would say so.”