Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch defied a mask requirement from Chief Justice John Roberts to protect their colleague Justice Sonia Sotomayor, whose has diabetes and is at a high risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
According to NPR, Sotomayor did not feel safe in close proximity to people who were not wearing a mask. In response, Chief Justice Roberts asked every justice to wear a mask on the bench. They all did, except Gorsuch who happens to sit next to Sotomayor.
Gorsuch’s decision forced Sotomayer to participate in Supreme Court oral arguments remotely from her private chambers and attend the justices’ weekly conference by telephone,” NPR reported.