Conservative fans of the iconic jurist Clarence Thomas were left concerned when he didn't show up to work on Monday.

The oldest justice returned to his place on the bench the next day and sparked leftist outrage by sitting in on a January 6th case.

The court did not give a reason for Thomas' one-day absence, merely explaining that he would participate using briefs and transcripts.

Clarence Thomas returns to work

Thomas is a top target of the left, where he is widely regarded as an unprincipled partisan.

It is no surprise, then, that Thomas' first day back at work led to another liberal media firestorm.

During Tuesday's arguments, Thomas asked whether there were other examples of political protesters being charged with "obstruction of an official proceeding," a crime that been used to charge hundreds of January 6thers.

"There have been many violent protests that have interfered with proceedings," Thomas said during the hearing. "Has the government applied this provision to other protests in the past?"

The comment incensed many of his detractors, many of whom incorrectly claimed that his wife Ginni Thomas participated in the January 6th riot. Thomas was at a non-violent 2020 election protest earlier in the day.

Libs freaking out....again

The court is in the middle of a historic term full of controversy surrounding Donald Trump.

The justices are expected to weigh Trump's immunity defense later this month. The court previously struck down an effort to take him off the ballot over January 6th.

Thomas was criticized for taking part in the case, even though the decision was unanimous in Trump's favor.

Nor was Thomas the only justice to sound skeptical of the Justice Department's sweeping January 6th prosecution during Tuesday's arguments.

"What happened on January 6 was very, very serious. But we need to find out what are the outer reaches of this statute under your interpretation," Justice Samuel Alito told Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar.

Thomas is the longest serving justice, appointed in 1991. At 75, he is the oldest justice on the bench and one of its most reliably conservative voices.

Liberal scrutiny of Thomas famously continued when he was hospitalized in 2022 for several days with an infection. He took part in arguments remotely at the time but did not do the same this week.