Neighbours of Chief Justice Roberts on Maine island split over protests tied to Trump rulings

A New York Times report, based on interviews with more than two dozen residents over the summer, describes a community around Hupper Island and Port Clyde, Maine, that is now sharply divided over Chief Justice John Roberts, who has spent more than 20 summers there. 1 2 Raw Story reports that much of the anger traces to the court's 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade and Roberts' 2024 majority opinion granting Donald Trump broad immunity from prosecution. The Times excerpt quoted by Hot Air also ties the anger to the court having handed more power to Trump. 1 2 Protesters calling themselves "kayak-tivists" gather on the water twice each summer a few hundred yards from his house, others stand on the town dock, and critical signs have spread along local roads. 1 2

Some longtime friends who would not protest have pulled back socially, and former members of a local cigar club skipped this summer's gatherings partly to avoid Roberts and his wife. Mary Anne Mason, a friend and former law partner, said the barrier "runs both ways". His security detail has grown, and he stayed off the dock on protest days. 1 Roberts' closest local friend, Kevin Lipson, urged restraint on Facebook, writing "Civility should be our guiding principle." Raw Story, citing the Times, adds that at a July protest Lipson told a demonstrator he would photograph her licence plate and protest outside her home, and replied "It's a promise" when she asked if that was a threat. 1 2 The Times also quotes Becca Shaw Glaser, who in 2022 wrote a local column urging residents to make Roberts uncomfortable at home and was fired as a columnist over it. Hot Air notes the Times reported that a federal statute prohibits picketing outside judges' homes but few people have been prosecuted, and that a William & Mary law expert, Timothy Zick, was stumped about how it applies to a water protest. 2

Roberts declined to comment to the Times. Raw Story adds that a recent Gallup poll put the Supreme Court's approval rating at a record low of 33 percent. 1 Raw Story's second piece collects critical social media reactions to the report from writers and commentators, while Hot Air argues the Times is ambivalent about the protests and that such tactics risk violence, citing the 2022 case of Nicholas John Roske at Justice Kavanaugh's home. 3 2