Morton’s this week sent a memo to its restaurant managers telling them to brace for more backlash over her statements defending 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 provided a constitutional right to the procedure. “We’re currently experiencing a huge surge (#2 trending on social media) of negative responses to our comments yesterday, as well as being bombarded locally with phone calls and fake Open Table reservations,” said Scott Crain, SVP. and COO of Morton’s, wrote to restaurant managers in an email obtained by Politico. “I’m bringing this to your attention because there’s a good chance your restaurants may also have people contacting you for feedback and/or making (fake) reservations in the coming days,” Crain continued. “As I said 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 inject our political beliefs at any time — 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 eating at a Morton’s restaurant in Washington when protesters learned he was at the facility. 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 spokesperson for Morton told Politico that the group’s actions were “lacking in decency.” “The Honorable Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh and all of our other restaurant patrons were unreasonably harassed by unruly protesters while dining at our Morton’s restaurant. Politics, regardless of your side or views, should not trump freedom in its game right of assembly and eat dinner,” the spokesman said. “There is a time and a place for everything. Disrupting all our customers’ dinner was an act of selfishness and a lack of decency,” the spokesperson added. In addition to the phone calls and fake reservations, the Morton’s restaurant where Kavanaugh dined has seen a handful of 1-star Google reviews contradicting his original statement. The location’s Yelp page has also temporarily stopped allowing users to post customer reviews due to “increased public attention” centered around the restaurant. Morton’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment. After the draft of the majority opinion to overturn Roe was leaked in early May, protests broke out across the country, with abortion rights activists and Democratic politicians criticizing the preliminary ruling, which was made even more urgent by the pending laws. “start” in a number of GOP-controlled states, which would effectively outlaw the process if the high court decided to overturn the ruling. When Roe was overturned last month, returning decision-making about abortion access to the states, liberal activists — some of whom had fought for abortion rights in the 1960s and 1970s — were outraged. Republicans, who have been pushing to overturn Roe for decades, largely applauded the decision. When the draft opinion leaked, pro-choice protesters showed up near the homes of Kavanaugh, along with Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito. showed up to protest at the home of Associate 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 then-pending Roe ruling. The person, Nicholas John Roske, was charged with attempted murder. He has since pleaded not guilty. President Joe Biden last month signed a law providing security for the families of Supreme Court justices.
