‘If I Steal Someone’s Wallet’: Ketanji Brown Jackson Makes Mind-Numbingly Stupid Argument |
‘If I Steal Someone’s Wallet’: Ketanji Brown Jackson Makes Mind-Numbingly Stupid Argument
(Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson offered an absurd definition of the word “allegiance” Wednesday.
“I was thinking, you know … I, a U.S. citizen, am visiting Japan. And what it means is that, you know, if I steal someone’s wallet in Japan, the Japanese authorities can arrest me and prosecute me. It’s allegiance, meaning, can they control you as a matter of law?” Jackson said, speaking to American Civil Liberties Union attorney Cecillia Wang.
The Supreme Court was hearing oral arguments in Trump v Barbara, a case challenging the constitutionality of President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship. (RELATED: Liberal Justices Baffled By Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Solo Dissent In ‘Textbook’ Free Speech Case)
Jackson continued: “I can also rely on them if my wallet is stolen to, you know, under Japanese law, go and prosecute the person who has stolen it.”
🚨 JUST IN: SCOTUS Justice Ketanji Jackson argues for illegal aliens having birthright citizenship by saying if she steals somebody’s wallet in Japan, she has “allegiance” to that country She has to freaking go. This is absurd. Actually. “I was thinking, you know, I’m a U.S.… pic.twitter.com/tHCOITYE5u — Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 1, 2026
🚨 JUST IN: SCOTUS Justice Ketanji Jackson argues for illegal aliens having birthright citizenship by saying if she steals somebody’s wallet in Japan, she has “allegiance” to that country
She has to freaking go. This is absurd. Actually.
“I was thinking, you know, I’m a U.S.… pic.twitter.com/tHCOITYE5u
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 1, 2026
“So there’s this relationship based on — even though I’m a temporary traveler, I’m just on vacation in Japan, I’m still locally owing allegiance in that sense. Is that the right way to think about it?”
This is an unbelievably tortured way to define “allegiance.” Allegiance is broadly understood to imply some sort of loyalty or fidelity on the part of an individual. Does a Chinese spy have allegiance to the United States because he’s being prosecuted on American soil?
“And if so, doesn’t that explain why both temporary residents and undocumented people would have that kind of, quote-unquote, allegiance, just by virtue of being in the United States?” (RELATED: Ketanji Brown Jackson Defends Jim Crow Law During Second Amendment Case Hearing)
Let me rephrase Jackson’s argument: If words don’t mean anything, doesn’t that explain why you can’t have a country?
Follow Natalie Sandoval on X: @NatSandovalDC