Sotomayor, Gorsuch deny report they were at odds over masks

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two Supreme Court justices say a media report they were at odds over the wearing of masks during the surge in coronavirus cases is false. NPR’s longtime Supreme Court correspondent Nina Totenberg reported on an alleged conflict between Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch. Sotomayor has diabetes and has been attending arguments remotely during the omicron variant spike. Her colleagues, with the exception of Gorsuch, wear masks in the courtroom. Totenberg reported that “Sotomayor did not feel safe” near those who were unmasked and that Chief Justice John Roberts had asked the other justices to do so. The court didn’t comment Wednesday beyond the statement by Sotomayor and Gorsuch saying they are “warm colleagues and friends.”