Ginni Thomas, activist and wife of SCOTUS Justice Thomas, says she attended Jan. 6 rally

Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, attended the Jan. 6 rally that preceded the deadly riot at the Capitol, she said in an interview with the Washington Free Beacon.

Driving the news: Thomas, a well-known conservative activist, said she attended the “Stop the Steal” rally held at the Ellipse in the morning, but got cold and left before former President Trump’s speech, where he told his supporters they should “fight like hell” to disrupt the electoral college vote count.

What she’s saying: “I was disappointed and frustrated that there was violence that happened following a peaceful gathering of Trump supporters on the Ellipse on Jan. 6,” Thomas told the Beacon.

• “There are important and legitimate substantive questions about achieving goals like electoral integrity, racial equality, and political accountability that a democratic system like ours needs to be able to discuss and debate rationally in the political square. I fear we are losing that ability.”
• Thomas said that she “played no role with those who were planning and leading the Jan. 6 events … There are stories in the press suggesting I paid or arranged for buses. I did not. There are other stories saying I mediated feuding factions of leaders for that day. I did not.”
• She also addressed whether her beliefs create a conflict of interest for her husband: “Like so many married couples, we share many of the same ideals, principles, and aspirations for America … But we have our own separate careers, and our own ideas and opinions too. Clarence doesn’t discuss his work with me, and I don’t involve him in my work.”

Catch up fast: The New Yorker and the New York Times Magazine both published stories alleging that Thomas had played a larger role in the Jan. 6 rally.

• Clarence Thomas has never recused himself from a case because of potential conflicts of interest with his wife’s activism, per the Washington Post.