Dick Durbin Disagrees With Chuck Schumer, Condemns Protests Outside Homes of Elected Officials: ‘Over the Line’

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) directly contradicted Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) over protests outside the homes of public officials, on Wednesday.

Protesters have marched to the homes of conservative Supreme Court justices, Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Justice Samuel Alito, carrying signs and candles after a draft opinion that would overturn the landmark abortion case Roe v. Wade was leaked to and reported on by Politico last week.

“I think when it comes to the home of an elected official, that’s over the line. It’s happened to me. And I think it happened to most of us in elected position,” said Durbin on CNN’s New Day. “If we want to bring women and men into this position, and accept the responsibility and sometimes the controversy, we have to have reasonable lines drawn to respect their families.”

In response to a reporter asking on Tuesday if he is “comfortable with the protests that we saw outside the homes of Supreme Court justices over the weekend,” Schumer said, “If protests are peaceful, yes. My house — there’s protests three, four times a week outside my house. The American way to peacefully protest is OK.”

Durbin slammed the protests outside Supreme Court justices’ homes as “absolutely reprehensible.”

“I think it’s reprehensible. Stay away from homes and families of elected officials and members of the court. You can express yourself, exercise your First Amendment rights. But to go after them in their homes, to do anything of a threatening nature and certainly anything violent is absolutely reprehensible.”

Protesting outside the home of judges is illegal.

Whoever, with the intent of interfering with, obstructing, or impeding the administration of justice, or with the intent of influencing any judge, juror, witness, or court officer, in the discharge of his duty, pickets or parades in or near a building housing a court of the United States, or in or near a building or residence occupied or used by such judge, juror, witness, or court officer, or with such intent uses any sound-truck or similar device or resorts to any other demonstration in or near any such building or residence, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

Nothing in this section shall interfere with or prevent the exercise by any court of the United States of its power to punish for contempt.

Watch above, via CNN.