Chief Justice John Roberts 'Isolated' by Neighbors and Doesn't Feel 'Comfortable' After Controversial Trump Rulings
John Roberts' summers aren't the same after SCOTUS rulings.
Oct. 2 2026, Published 4:45 p.m. ET
Neighbors on a small island off the Maine coast have pulled back from Chief Justice John Roberts, and protests have gathered on the water outside his summer house, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The move comes after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Roberts wrote the 2024 opinion granting former President Donald Trump broad immunity.
Roberts spends his summers on a small island near Portland, Maine.
Roberts has spent more than 20 summers on Hupper Island, a car-free island near Port Clyde, about 90 miles northeast of Portland, with barely two dozen homes.
More than two dozen residents over the summer by a publication, who reported that some people there have turned against Roberts.
'Roberts Benched the Constitution'
Summer protests were in full swing this year outside of Roberts' home.
Twice each summer, demonstrators who call themselves kayak-tivists face the house from the water.
One row sits on kayaks, linking oars, a few hundred yards from the island. Another stands on the Port Clyde dock. The crowd, on land and sea, has never been more than a few dozen.
Signs along local roads have included "Roberts Benched the Constitution."
On a visit this year to nearby Monhegan Island, people who recognized him chanted that he should be ashamed, and residents said his security detail has grown.
Roberts used to spend Sunday afternoons on the dock after church, but on protest days this summer, he stayed away.
Personal Accounts of Protests Over John Roberts
Neighbors are saying that there is a clear difference around town.
Mary Anne Mason, a friend and former law partner, said, "From what I see, the barrier runs both ways. It's harder for him to feel comfortable approaching people, and vice versa."
Tamara Cody, a kayak outfitter and longtime friend, said the change has been "hard to watch."
Some former members of a local cigar club skipped this summer's gatherings partly because they did not want to spend time with Roberts and his wife, while other longtime friends said they would never join a protest, but have pulled back anyway.
Kevin Lipson, described as Roberts' closest friend in the area, urged neighbors on Facebook to show restraint and wrote, "Civility should be our guiding principle."
At a July protest, Lipson confronted a demonstrator and said he would photograph her license plate, find out where she lived, and protest outside her home. When she asked if that was a threat, he replied, "It's a promise."
Two Supreme Court Cases Have Caused the Split
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Two rulings are the main cause for the isolation.
Wendy Schlotterbeck, a longtime island neighbor, said she wished she could ask Roberts, "Do you realize what your decisions are doing to my family and my community?"
Two rulings have caused the outrage: In 2022, the court overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the constitutional right to abortion, and in 2024, Roberts wrote the majority opinion holding that Trump has broad immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts.
