Pete Buttigieg justifies Brett Kavanaugh having to leave steakhouse

Sunday on Fox News, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg responded to a question about whether it was right for activists to protest at places like restaurants, a reference to Justice Brett Kavanaugh having to hastily exit a Morton's after protestors arrived at the steakhouse chain on Friday.

"When public officials go into public life we should expect two things," Buttigieg said, "One, you should always be free from violence, harassment and intimidation and two, you're never going to be free from criticism or peaceful protests, people exercising their First Amendment rights."

Buttigieg's husband Chasten responded to the Kavanaugh incident on Friday saying, "Sounds like he just wanted some privacy to make his own dining decisions" which prompted the line of questioning.

The Transportation Secretary defended the protestors with, "these protesters are upset because a right, an important right" concerning abortion was "taken away."

In June, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and sent the issue of abortion back to the states.

The decision was split along party lines and the conservative justices have received intense backlash and harassment since May when a leaked draft of the decision was released. In June, Kavanaugh was the target of a botched assassination attempt.

ShutDownDC, the group responsible for the Morton's protest, has put bounties out for 'sightings' of conservative judges "$50 for a confirmed sighting and $200" if they're at the location when ShutDownDC arrives.

"Settled case law in the United States has been that the Constitution protected a right to privacy and that has now been thrown out the window by justices," Buttigieg said, invoking the argument that abortion was protected under the Fourth Amendment - an argument rejected in Dobbs.

Buttigieg was then asked, "Are you comfortable with protesters protesting when you and your husband go to dinner at a restaurant?"

"The bottom line is this," Buttigieg replied, "Any public figure should always always be free from violence, intimidation and harassment, but should never be free from criticism or people exercising their First Amendment right."

Buttigieg then diverted from the Kavanaugh protestors and began talking about January 6 saying it was a day the "mob" tried and "nearly succeeded'' in overthrowing an election.