A steakhouse chain has been inundated with phone calls and fake reservations over its defense of Associate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s “right” to “dinner” at one of its restaurants, where demonstrators gathered outside to protest his support for overturning Roe v. Wade.
Morton’s sent a memo to its restaurant managers this week, telling them to brace for more backlash over her remarks in defense of the lawyer, Politico reported Saturday. Cavanaugh was one of five justices who voted last month to overturn Roe, the landmark 1973 decision that legalized abortion in the United States and gave the procedure a constitutional right.
“We are currently experiencing a massive wave (trending #2 on social media right now) of negative responses to our comments yesterday, as well as being bombarded locally with phone calls and fake reservations on Open Table,” Scott Crane, senior vice president and chief chief operating officer of Morton’s, wrote to restaurant managers in an email obtained by Politico.
“I am bringing this to your attention because there is a good chance that your restaurants will potentially have people reaching out for comment and/or making (fake) reservations in the next few days,” Crane continued. “As I stated yesterday, our comment is always ‘No comment.’ We don’t reply, we don’t retweet, we don’t post on Instagram or Facebook, we don’t do anything.”
“Again, we do NOT insert our political beliefs at any point — not with an employee, not with a fellow manager, and certainly NOT with a guest,” he added in the memo.
On Wednesday night, Cavanaugh was dining at Morton’s restaurant in Washington, D.C., when protesters learned he was at the restaurant. A group gathered outside the restaurant and told the manager to kick him out, and Cavanaugh left through the restaurant’s back door, Politico reported at the time.
After the incident, a representative for Morton told Politico that the group’s actions were “bereft of decency.”
“The Honorable Supreme Court Justice Cavanaugh and all of our other restaurant patrons were unlawfully harassed by unruly protesters while dining at our Morton’s restaurant. Politics, regardless of your party or views, should not trample the freedom of play on the right to gather and dine,” the representative said.
“There is a time and a place for everything. Disrupting all of our customers’ dinner was an act of selfishness and lack of decorum,” the representative added.
In addition to the phone calls and fake reservations, Morton’s, the restaurant where Cavanaugh dined, has seen a handful of 1-star Google reviews contradicting his original claim.
The location’s Yelp page also temporarily stopped allowing people to post customer reviews due to “increased public attention” focused on the restaurant.
Morton’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
After the majority draft opinion overturning Roe expired in early May, protests erupted across the country, with abortion rights activists and Democratic politicians criticizing the preliminary ruling, made even more urgent by pending “trigger” laws in a number of GOP-controlled states that would effectively ban the procedure if the high court decides to overturn the decision.
When Roe was overturned last month, returning abortion access decisions to the states, liberal activists — some of whom fought for abortion rights in the 1960s and 1970s — were outraged.
Republicans, who have pushed for Roe’s repeal for decades, largely applauded the decision.
As the draft opinion expired, pro-choice protesters appeared near Cavanaugh’s homes, along with Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito; they showed up to protest at the home of Justice Clarence Thomas after Roe was overturned.
Last month, a man arrested near Cavanaugh’s residence told federal investigators that he wanted to kill the lawyer because of his anger over the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and the court’s then-pending Roe decision.
The person, Nicholas John Roske, was charged with attempted murder. He has since pleaded not guilty.
President Joe Biden last month signed legislation that provides security for the families of Supreme Court justices.
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