Here’s What the “Appeal to Heaven” Flag Means
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is being criticized for flying an “Appeal to Heaven” flag at his beach house–but what does the flag represent? Veuer’s Matt Hoffman has the details.
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00:00 Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has generated controversy
00:03 by flying an "Appeal to Heaven" flag at his beach house last year,
00:07 as reported by the New York Times.
00:09 But what exactly does the flag mean?
00:11 It's a design with a long history.
00:13 The phrase "Appeal to Heaven" originates with the philosopher John Locke
00:16 and basically signifies the right of violent revolution against an unjust government.
00:20 Locke wrote in 1689,
00:22 "In all states and conditions, the true remedy of force without authority is to oppose force to it.
00:27 The people have no other remedy in this, as in all other cases where they have no judge on earth,
00:32 but to appeal to heaven."
00:33 According to the AP, the flag bearing this phrase was first used by American forces during the Revolutionary War.
00:39 But the New York Times reports that in 2013,
00:41 the flag was adopted by an author named Dutch Sheets as a symbol of his right-wing American Christian movement.
00:46 The website Appealtoheaven.org describes the movement's mission as
00:50 "honoring the Lord by networking elected officials who are believers in Jesus Christ
00:54 and who will commit to live and govern based on biblical, constitutional, and federalist principles."
00:59 The flag perhaps gained its most mainstream visibility
01:02 when it was prominently used by rioters at the Capitol on January 6th.
01:06 And that's the association that's most bothersome to Justice Alito's critics,
01:09 especially given that the justice was flying the flag in the summer of last year,
01:13 the same time that Fisher v. United States,
01:16 a case with major implications for the January 6th rioters,
01:19 arrived at the Supreme Court.
01:20 Law professor Charles Jay told the Times,
01:22 "We all have our biases, but the good judge fights against them.
01:25 When a judge celebrates his predispositions by hoisting them on a flag, that's deeply disturbing."