Protesters Paddle to Chief Justice Roberts' Maine Island for One-Hour Vigil
A group of more than 20 activists paddled out to Chief Justice John Roberts' private island off Port Clyde, Maine, staging a floating vigil and land demonstration.
On August 15, a coalition of roughly 20 protesters paddled to the waters surrounding Hupper Island, the private Maine retreat of Chief Justice John Roberts and his wife Jane Roberts, to conduct a one-hour floating vigil. Simultaneously, about 20 additional demonstrators assembled on nearby land, displaying slogans that denounced the Roberts Court as a "rubber stamp for fascism" and accused it of undermining constitutional safeguards.
The action was organized by The Audacity: Creative Action Together, which cited the Court's recent decisions granting former presidents broad immunity and eroding the 1965 Voting Rights Act as evidence of an authoritarian shift. The group also condemned the Supreme Court's use of the “shadow docket,” which they say has allowed President Donald Trump to advance policies despite lower-court blocks. Roberts and Jane Roberts, who purchased homes on Hupper Island in 2006 and a larger waterfront property in 2016, recently sold their Maryland residence for $3.44 million. The Supreme Court’s Public Information Office did not immediately respond to inquiries about the protest.
Why it matters
The demonstration underscores growing public backlash against the Supreme Court's perceived rightward shift and its impact on American law.
In this story
