Abortion Protesters Get Probation for Disrupting Supreme Court

A federal judge ordered three abortion-rights protesters who interrupted US Supreme Court proceedings in November to each serve unsupervised probation until June 30, 2023.

Nicole Elizabeth Enfield, Emily Archer Paterson, and Rolande Dianne Baker were sentenced separately on Friday afternoon by Judge Amit Mehta in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.

The women were charged with violating a federal law that prohibits people from uttering loud, threatening, or abusive language in the Supreme Court building or grounds. Penalties can include up to 60 days in jail and up to $5,000 in fines.

All three women pleaded guilty as part of a deal with the government in which they agreed to stay away from the Supreme Court building and surrounding grounds. The end of their probation coincides with the end of the court’s current term.

Mehta told the protesters that while he doesn’t condone what they did, he understands their “passion” and “sense of injustice.”

Dobbs Dissent

During oral arguments Nov. 2 in a case involving the Bank Secrecy Act, the women jumped up from their seats in the gallery one after another to protest the court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade and urge women to vote in the upcoming election. The June ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization returned the abortion issue to the states.

The women were removed from the courtroom and held in police custody for 30 hours following their protest. The outburst marked the first time since 2015 that a protest had taken place inside the courtroom. When the abortion ruling was decided, the court was closed to the public because of Covid-19.

The government had recommended the judge sentence each to 12 months probation. Justice Department attorney Meredith Mayer-Dempsey said speaking out in the Supreme Court gallery during arguments isn’t protected speech.

The protesters asked for time served and said the time they spent in police custody was punishment enough.

Enfield and Paterson are from northern Virginia, while Baker is from Tucson, Ariz.