MOCO Executive Urges Supreme Court Marshal To Discuss Home Security With County Officials

BETHESDA, MD — Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich accused the Supreme Court’s top security officer of a "publicity stunt" after she released a letter expressing concerns about protests at justice’s homes in Maryland to the news media before discussing security worries with his office or the Montgomery County Police Department.

Supreme Court Marshal Gail Curley, in four separate letters addressed to Elrich, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeffrey McKay, said protests and “threatening” activity had increased since May at the justices’ homes.

After the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe V. Wade was leaked in early May, protests have been occurring outside the homes of Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh in Chevy Chase, Maryland, both of whom voted with the majority in the decision, released in June, that declared the constitutional right to abortion, upheld for nearly a half century, no longer exists.

“The marshal of the Supreme Court released the letter to the media before they sent it to me or the police chief,” Elrich said Thursday in his weekly video message. “This letter was not emailed to me, but to the public information office for Montgomery County, 10 hours after the Washington Post wrote about the letter.”

“I’m always willing to discuss any issue of concern,” he said. “But I don’t appreciate a publicity stunt that appears to be about safety, when it isn’t about safety at all.”

The Washington Post published its story about Curley’s concerns about protests outside Supreme Court justice homes around midnight July 1. At 10 a.m. on July 2, Montgomery County's public information office received the letter by email, Elrich said. The letter was also sent by the U.S. Postal Service, but Elrich said he still has not received the letter.

“They’re being eager to notify the press and lackadaisical about reaching out to us does not convey a sense of urgency about security,” Elrich said. “And we and our police are enforcing the law. They’re watching that protesters don’t linger in front of homes and that they’re not there too late.”

The Supreme Court had not responded to a request for comment on Elrich's statements at the time this article was published. Patch will update the story when we receive a response.

Protesters in Montgomery County are subject to local regulations, such as a requirement that they not remain stationary in front of a person’s house and not block traffic.

“Earlier this week, for example, 75 protesters loudly picketed at one Justice’s home in Maryland for 20-30 minutes in the evening, then proceeded to picket at another Justice’s home for 30 minutes, where the crowd grew to 100, and finally returned to the first Justice’s home to picket for another 20 minutes,” Curley said in the letters to Hogan and Elrich.

READ ALSO: Protesters Gather Outside Supreme Court Justices' Chevy Chase Homes

Sean Gagen, commander of the Montgomery County Police Department’s Second District, told Bethesda Magazine this week that since the protests started in May, officers have only had to issue warnings to the protesters twice and both times the group complied with the law.

Last month, a federal grand jury indicted a California man on charges of attempted murder after he showed up near the home of Kavanaugh in Chevy Chase early on June 8, carrying a gun and two magazines loaded with 10 rounds each of 9mm ammunition.

Nicholas Roske, 26, traveled from his home in Simi Valley, California, with the intent to kill the Supreme Court justice, according to court documents. But after arriving in Kavanaugh's neighborhood, Nicholas Roske, 26, placed two 911 calls, informing local police that he had suicidal thoughts and had a firearm in his suitcase. The police then arrested Roske that morning without incident.

The protests outside justices’ homes have sparked legal debate over whether laws banning picketing outside of the private homes of judges are constitutional.

According to Elrich, the Montgomery County Police Department has been doing "a great job balancing these competing demands for freedom of speech and public safety concerns."

“We, as a county, are not encouraging these protests, but we won’t deny them their constitutional right to protest, as long as they do it in a lawful way,” he said.