Supreme Court liberals side with Clarence Thomas on Taliban suicide bomber lawsuit, 3 others dissent

U.S.Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas speaks during a special lecture celebrating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence at Hogg Memorial Auditorium at the University of Texas on Wednesday, April 15, 2026.(Jay Janner/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)

“The Fourth Circuit’s decision held Hencely’s claims preempted even though the conduct complained of was neither ordered nor authorized by the Federal Government.No provision of the Constitution and no federal statute justifies that preemption of the State’s ordinary authority over tort suits.Nor does any precedent of this Court command such a result.Therefore, we vacate the judgment of the Fourth Circuit and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion,” Wednesday’s decision declares.

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“In 2016, a Taliban operative working for respondent Fluor Corporation, a military contractor, carried out a suicide-bomb attack at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan.After then-Army Specialist Winston T.Hencely confronted him, the bomber detonated his suicide vest,” the opinion explains.“As a result of the injuries he received, Hencely is now permanently disabled.”

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Justices of the U.S.Supreme Court pose for their official photo at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.on Oct.7, 2022. (OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

“In an effort to recover damages for his injuries, Hencely sued Fluor, bringing state-law tort claims for negligently retaining and supervising the attacker.According to Hencely and the United States military, Fluor’s conduct was not authorized by the military and even violated instructions the military had given it as a condition of operating on the base,” the opinion notes.

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Justice Samuel Alito, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh dissented.

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Flowers adorn a garden in front of the U.S.Supreme Court building on March 31, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)

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“May a State regulate security arrangements on a military base in an active warzone?May state judges and juries pass judgment on questions that are inextricably tied to military decisions that balance war-related risks against long-term strategic objectives?In my judgment, the answer to these questions must be ‘no,’ and for that reason, this state-law tort case is preempted by the Constitution’s grant of war powers exclusively to the Federal Government,” Alito wrote in the dissent, in which Roberts and Kavanaugh joined.

“The Constitution divides authority between the Federal Government and the States in many areas, but not when it comes to war.War is the exclusive domain of the Federal Government, but the Court allows state (or foreign law) to encroach on that domain.The Constitution precludes that encroachment, and therefore petitioner’s suit is preempted.Because the Court holds otherwise, I respectfully dissent,” Alito noted.