Chief Justice Humiliated as Protesters Hit His Private Island

Chip Somodevilla / Chip Somodevilla/Pool via REUTERS Chief Justice John Roberts’ island escape was interrupted by protesters who arrived by kayak to stage a demonstration.

The Supreme Court justice, who has pleaded with critics of his ultra-conservative court to back off , learned earlier this month that even his private island retreat off Port Clyde, Maine, wasn’t beyond the reach of protesters.

Arriving by kayak, canoe, and rowboat, the protesters staged a one-hour “floating vigil” in the waters between Port Clyde and Hupper Island, where Roberts has a home, the Midcoast Villager reported.

The protesters’ signs declared “The Roberts Court: Rubber Stamp for Fascism” and “Roberts Benched the Constitution,” according to photos published in the Midcoast Villager.

More than 20 people paddled out for the protest, while another 20 demonstrated on land, according to the Midcoast Villager.

Roberts and his wife, Jane Roberts, bought a 1,344-square-foot home on Hupper Island, a private island accessible only by water, in 2006.

They bought a second 1,560-square-foot home sitting on two waterfront acres in 2016, according to the Bangor Daily News .

Last month, the couple—whose wealth is estimated at roughly $25 million —sold their longtime home in Chevy Chase, Maryland, for $3.44 million, Realtor.com reported.

They had bought the seven-bedroom house for $1.23 million in 2003.

Once he retires, Roberts will continue to collect his Supreme Court salary, currently set at $320,700, every year for the rest of his life, according to Forbes .

The Aug.

15 protest at Roberts’ house was organized by The Audacity: Creative Action Together, a local progressive group, which said on its website that it aimed “to bring attention to Chief Justice John Roberts’ transformation of the Supreme Court into a rubber stamp for authoritarianism.” The group pointed to Roberts’ role in the Supreme Court’s sharp rightward turn with decisions suwhich granted former presidents absolute immunity for core constitutional acts and presumptive immunity for other official acts; and Louisiana v.

Callais , which gutted the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act.

The group also criticized Roberts, a conservative who was appointed by George W.