The bill passed the House with 396 votes against and 27 against and is now being addressed to President Biden’s office for signature. Made by Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn and Delaware Democrat Chris Koons, the Senate passed the bill last month. All 27 votes against the bill came from Democrats, including several prominent progressives. All but two New Jersey Democrats voted against the vote, arguing that it should extend protection to federal judges as a whole. The family of a federal judge in New Jersey became the target of a gunman in a deadly attack on their home in 2020. The proposal, called the Supreme Court Equality Police Act, gives the Supreme Court marshal and the Supreme Court police the power to protect family members of judges or any court official if protection is deemed necessary. White House spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday that Biden was backing legislation to fund increased security for the Supreme Court and its members, and said the government was taking “very serious” threats and intimidation of judges. Senate Republicans have urged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi not to wait any longer before bringing the bill to the House of Representatives for a vote after the incident outside Cavanaugh’s home last week. House Democrats have sought to extend the measure to add protection for Supreme Court officials, staff and their families. However, Cornyn said the bill was a “mockery” of his and Coons’s efforts and accused Democratic House leaders of making a “transparent effort to stop the legislation.” “The line between legitimate public discourse and acts of violence has been crossed and House Democrats can no longer turn a blind eye,” he said. “We do not have time to devote when it comes to protecting court members and their families.” But House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer accused Cornyn and Senate Minority Leader McConnell of acting “either unaware of the facts or ignoring the facts” by rejecting the changes the House is seeking. “Employees are in there because they are connected to various judges and their families are obviously connected to them,” he said on Tuesday, citing cyber threats against court officials. “It’s what it is and we will move the account.” Police arrested 26-year-old Nicholas John Roske early in the morning after calling local law enforcement and saying he had come from California to kill a “specific U.S. Supreme Court justice,” according to an FBI jury filed in federal court. The Supreme Court has confirmed that the threat was directed at Cavanaugh and a man was taken into custody near the judge’s home in Montgomery County, Maryland. The call to the Montgomery County Emergency Communication Center came after U.S. Deputy Brigadiers General said they saw a man dressed in black and with a backpack and suitcase getting out of a taxi that stopped in front of Cavanaugh’s house. After Roske was arrested, police found in his possession a black tactical chest and a regular knife, a Glock 17 pistol with two cartridges and ammunition, pepper spray, zippers and many tools, as well as hiking boots lined with the soles on the outside. and other items, the affidavit states. He reportedly told police he was upset by the Supreme Court’s draft opinion on overthrowing Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that legalized abortions nationwide and the recent shooting at a school in Uvalde Texas. He reportedly said he believed Cavanaugh would rule in favor of gun rights. Roske has been charged with attempted murder of a Supreme Court justice. In addition to the arrests and threats against Cavanaugh, protesters also gathered outside the homes of several other judges, including Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Connie Barrett, to protest the abolition of abortion rights and the leaked and published last month. Following the publication of the plan, Supreme Court police reported a “significant increase in violent threats”, including threats made on social media and addressed to members of the court, according to a press release from the Ministry of Homeland Security. Attorney General Merrick Garland also called on the U.S. Department of Defense to provide additional support to the Supreme Court marshal to ensure the safety of judges in the midst of a public backlash. Rebecca Kaplan contributed to the petition.
