According to new reporting from The New York Times, a community that once welcomed Chief Justice John Roberts has grown divided over him during his summers in Maine.
Roberts has spent more than 20 summers on Hupper Island, a small stretch of coast near the town of Port Clyde, where he bought his home back in 2006. The Times interviewed more than two dozen residents over the summer, and their accounts trace the shift back to the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade and Roberts’ own 2024 majority opinion granting Trump broad immunity from prosecution for official acts.
Signs criticizing the chief justice have gone up along local roads, one of them reading, “Roberts Benched the Constitution.” Protesters have taken to the water too, staging “kayak-tivist” flotillas near his home.
Oyez, Oyez and Ahoy! Paddlers — and one dog — protest Chief Justice John Roberts’ private Maine island. https://t.co/U2K1qWxh58 https://t.co/ysIPOGxtsA
— Alex Seitz-Wald (@aseitzwald) August 20, 2026
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During a visit to nearby Monhegan Island earlier this year, people who recognized him chanted that he should be ashamed.
The protests haven’t stayed confined to strangers. Members of a local cigar club skipped this summer’s gatherings to avoid sitting with Roberts and his wife, and acquaintances who once shared dinners with the couple have started keeping their distance.
Longtime neighbor Wendy Schlotterbeck told the Times what she’d say to Roberts if she got the chance. “Do you realize what your decisions are doing to my family and my community?” she asked.
Commentator Bill Madden took the story and laid out exactly what’s changed for Roberts in a post of his own, writing, “Chief Justice John Roberts is being frozen out on the Maine island where he has summered for more than 20 years. Neighbors who once shared lobster dinners with him now keep their distance, skip gatherings, or show up to protest his rulings.”
Chief Justice John Roberts Shunned by His Neighbors as Backlash Over Pro-Fascist, Cruel, and Sadistic Trump Rulings Grows
Chief Justice John Roberts is being frozen out on the Maine island where he has summered for more than 20 years. Neighbors who once shared lobster dinners with him now keep their distance, skip gatherings, or show up to protest his rulings.
The break tracks the court’s 2022 barbaric decision overturning Roe v. Wade and Roberts’ 2024 opinion granting Donald Trump the same kind of broad immunity from prosecution that other authoritarian tyrants enjoy. Kayakers hold signs a few hundred yards from his house. “Roberts Benched the Constitution” appears on local roads. On Monhegan Island, people who recognized him chanted that he should be ashamed.
Longtime friends have pulled back. Members of a local cigar club skipped this summer’s gatherings so they would not have to sit with Roberts and his wife. “It’s harder for him to feel comfortable approaching people — and vice versa,” said Mary Anne Mason, a former law partner.
His security detail has grown. He used to linger on the dock after church; on protest days he stays away. Wendy Schlotterbeck, a longtime neighbor, said she wanted to ask him directly: “Do you realize what your decisions are doing to my family and my community?”
A recent Gallup poll put the fascist-friendly Roberts Supreme Court’s approval at a record low of 33% — which is still 33% higher than it should be.
— Bill Madden (@maddenifico) October 1, 2026
Other people reacting to the story weren’t nearly as measured.
Biographer Brian Jay Jones wrote, “John Roberts should never have a loogie-free restaurant meal for the rest of his life.” Bluesky user Linda UWS argued that even the Times’ framing deserved outrage, writing that the line “‘John Roberts retreated to his island…’ should be met with pitchforks and torches.”
Not everyone locally has turned on him. Kevin Lipson, described as Roberts’ closest friend on the island, has urged neighbors on Facebook to show restraint, writing, “Civility should be our guiding principle.” Another longtime friend, Tamara Cody, told the Times the change in Roberts over the past few years has been “hard to watch.”
Featured image via X screengrab
