Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito recused himself from a case on Monday dealing with social media websites.
Alito did not explain why he stepped aside, but the reason was likely routine as he owns stock in the company Procter & Gamble, which was a party in the case, according to left-leaning advocacy group Fix The Court.
The Supreme Court rejected the appeal from right-wing provocateur Laura Loomer, who accused the tech giants Facebook and X (formerly known as Twitter) of colluding to censor her during both of her campaigns for Congress.
A brief note said that Alito "took no part in the consideration or decision of this petition.”
"The petition for a writ of certiorari is denied. Justice Alito took no part in the consideration or decision of this petition," the court wrote.
Loomer had alleged that she was deplatformed as part of a conspiracy involving "government pressure, corporate collusion and biased content moderation” that “stifled” her ability to fundraise and communicate with voters, the Hill reported.
Her arguments failed to win over lower courts, which found she did not have a convincing claim that the Big Tech companies acted as a criminal enterprise under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
Loomer named consumer goods corporation Procter & Gamble as one of the defendants in the alleged conspiracy to silence her. Justice Alito inherited shares in the company from his late father-in-law.
Federal judges are required to recuse themselves in cases where their impartiality can be called into question, such as situations where they have a financial interest.
In recent years, the left has pressured conservative members of the Supreme Court to recuse themselves from cases on more spurious grounds.
Alito, for instance, previously faced demands from Democrats to step aside from January 6th cases over flags that were displayed at his homes. Alito stood his ground, issuing a defiant response to his critics.
While critical of Alito in other instances, Fix The Court noted that his recusal from the Loomer case was unremarkable.
"Sometimes, the simplest answer is the right one: Justice Alito recused because the law required him to do so," wrote Fix The Cout clerk Manny Marotta.
This is not the first time that Alito has recused himself from a case where he had a financial interest. Indeed, Alito has investments in 28 different companies, according to his financial disclosures.
