Someone (Allegedly) Tried to Carjack the U.S. Marshals Guarding Justice Sotomayor’s Home

There are several reasonable angles to this story but let’s start with the story itself:

Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor’s bodyguard shoots would-be carjacker outside her home https://t.co/n2XVyy7OEp pic.twitter.com/fh4D1k7ALj
— New York Post (@nypost) July 9, 2024

From the article:

Two deputy US Marshals shot a would-be carjacker who pulled a gun on him while they were guarding Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s home in Washington, DC, authorities said.
The marshals were parked outside Sotomayor’s home in northwest DC on July 5 when Kentrell Flowers, 18, allegedly walked up to one of their cars around 1:15 a.m. and pointed a gun one of the federal agents, the US Marshals Service told The Post.

To break in for a moment, North West is considered a relatively safe part of D.C. But you are notably safer the moment you exit the entire district and go to either to Maryland or Virginia.

One of the federal agents drew his weapon and fired several shots at the suspect, with the second officer also firing his weapon at Flowers.
Flowers, of Southeast DC, was arrested and treated at a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, officials said.

We are legitimately shocked that his injuries were not at least life-threatening. These are supposed to be professionals in the Marshals, and typically, they should be aiming to leave the person with life-threatening injuries. That's what law enforcement typically trains a person to do to incapacitate an armed threat.

Still, the justice was not in any danger because she wasn’t home at the time and we are glad to hear that.

Also, here’s a nice little nugget:

The teenage suspect was charged with armed carjacking, carrying a pistol without a license, and possession of a large capacity magazine.

It’s also further evidence that D.C.’s out-of-control crime risks creating a serious political problem. The president, Congress and the Supreme Court are expected to work in this city that fundamentally isn’t safe. Congress can and should take control away from local officials and do what is necessary to reduce crime in our capital back to manageable levels.

But David Harsanyi makes another valid point:

"In sum, the Framers did not write the Second Amendment in order to protect a private right of armed self defense." -- Sotomayor, with the dissent in McDonald https://t.co/qSWVRiY444
— David Harsanyi (@davidharsanyi) July 9, 2024

Mind you, that wasn’t Sotomayor’s own words nor is he pretending they are. But that is from a dissent written by Justice Breyer and joined without reservation by Sotomayor in McDonald v. City of Chicago, 561 U.S. 742 (2010). And yes, despite the Supreme Court ruling that the Second Amendment protected a right to bear arms for self-defense in District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008), she and the other liberals were trying to re-litigate that issue only two years later, showing you their willingness as usual to respect precedent, except when they don’t.

So, Sotomayor was joining the argument that we shouldn’t be allowed to carry guns in self-defense. But this incident shows you that even if she got her way and the Second Amendment was reduced to a hollow husk, she wouldn’t have to live with the consequences. Whatever the Supreme Court rules on the right to bear arms, she will always be surrounded by people with guns, ready to do violence on her behalf.

But most of us ‘plebes’ don’t merit 24/7 protection by U.S. Marshals and we can’t afford our own armed security. So, what do you do when someone is trying to break down your door? You can call the police, but even if they come as fast as they can, it will still take time for them to get there and a lot of bad things can happen to you in that time. And there is no guarantee that the police will definitely come when politicians can actually be convinced that defunding the police is a good idea. No, a law-abiding American has to know by now that sometimes help isn’t coming, or at least it won’t come quickly enough. You will have to depend on yourself.

And Sotomayor tried to take away one of the most basic tools you need to do so.

Guns save lives
— The Dank Knight 🦇 (@capeandcowell) July 9, 2024

The anti-second amendment SCOTUS justice has a bodyguard who carries a gun, huh??

Interesting.
— Axiomatic Enemy of the State (@DeTocqueville14) July 9, 2024

He should have just called a social worker. This is unacceptable.
— Savannah (@BasedSavannah) July 9, 2024

We detect sarcasm.

The Marshal drew his weapon and fired several shots at the suspect, who was arrested and treated at a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries,...

It's time to get back to the range.
— Chaz Covfefe (@Chaz_Covfefe) July 9, 2024

A normal citizen would be in jail right now in DC for defending themselves.
— Mike R (@I_am_Mutated) July 9, 2024

Oh, a good guy with a gun ?
— Moegreen (@Bill29487414) July 9, 2024

Just a few more common-sense gun control laws should do the trick pic.twitter.com/c6UVuTPv2a
— Marc Cocteaustan (@Igor_Cocteau) July 9, 2024

We often see gun control activists complain that the reason why criminals can get guns in D.C. despite the laws in place is because gun freedom finds more respect in other jurisdictions like our own Virginia. Our response is often something like this:

So, what you are saying is that it is hard to stop the flow of illegal goods when you don’t have border control. After all, you can’t control the border between D.C. and Virginia as a matter of constitutional law. But then doesn’t that imply that there’s no point in trying to have any kind of gun control if we can’t get our international borders under control? Even if you get gun control in every other state in the union, you still have to stop them from coming in from Mexico or Canada.

We don’t like gun control in general, but gun control without border control is just stupid.

anyone against 2A in any form should be denied a private security detail
— 1977 (@SamuelB21133919) July 9, 2024

We’ll see. Should be a defining moment, but she’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
— Danny Anderson (aka: Abuelo de la Spoopy) (@danander11) July 9, 2024

Good to know only the important people are allowed to have armed protection but not us peasants
— kevin smith (@kevin_smith45) July 9, 2024

This episode is going to make for a delicious footnote in the next SCOTUS gun rights case. https://t.co/Hl4xqMpcNc
— Mark Hemingway (@Heminator) July 9, 2024

The would-be carjacker, 18-year-old Kentrell Flowers of Southeast DC, was probably not a Trump voter. https://t.co/Hb88gOxICV
— The Patriarch Tree (@PatriarchTree) July 9, 2024

Bluntly, you’re only slightly less likely to find a unicorn living in D.C. than a Trump voter. Even among the few Republicans who live there, they usually hate Trump. Think of that what you will.

Q: Will this experience have changed her view on the second amendment?
A: No, because if your kids get threatened or hurt, it doesn't matter, only people like her matter 👍🏻 https://t.co/qHxKHPUEZt
— ░SourPatchLyds░ (@sourpatchlyds) July 10, 2024

Oh well at least she was one of the pro-2a judges... right? Wait... she wasn't? Odd https://t.co/vxOPnJj6y2 pic.twitter.com/Ito8t5hWz0
— ✳️Ⓐ Armed Joy 🎨💣 (@ArmedJ0y) July 10, 2024

Sarcastic anime girl for the win.

The Left: Nobody needs guns

Also the Left: https://t.co/Y5ylT2kCNa
— J L Fairchild (@J_L_Fairchild) July 9, 2024

Disgusting. It’s just property. https://t.co/2tvDxz5LIA
— 🫃🏼💉🇺🇦Hollaria Briden, Esq. (@HollyBriden) July 9, 2024

Hopefully you know by now not to take ‘Hollaria's’ comments seriously.

really appalling to see a left wing SCOTUS justice participating in this discredited right wing canard about crime. crime is down actually. https://t.co/OrSyCemD8X
— blighter (@blightersort) July 9, 2024

Heh.