A former Washington Post reporter revealed that he passed on writing a story about the upside-down U.S. flag hanging outside of Justice Samuel Alito’s home in 2021 and said he had never heard that the symbol was associated with the so-called “Stop the Steal” movement.
Speaking to Post columnist Erik Wemple, retired WaPo Supreme Court reporter Robert Barnes said he got an anonymous tip about the flag, saw the flag flying at the Alitos’ home on Jan. 6, 2021, and spoke with the Alitos about why it was upside down. He explained why he ultimately chose not to report on it.
“We determined that it wasn’t the justice that flew the flag upside down and we determined it wasn’t a protest about the election or something else on the part of Mrs. Alito,” Barnes told Wemple. Barnes said he made the determination based on Martha-Ann Alito’s “actions when I saw her and what others in the neighborhood had told me.”
“I was not aware that an upside-down flag was a symbol of ‘Stop the Steal,’” Barnes also told Wemple. “It never came up in our conversations that this was a symbol of ‘Stop the Steal.’”
Three years after Barnes was given the tip about the upside-down flag at the Alitos’ Virginia residence, the New York Times decided this the story was front-page news, publishing several hit pieces against the family and Justice Alito’s integrity.
Even in light of the resulting media blitz against the Alitos, which began mid-May and continued for weeks, Wemple
