Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is back on the bench after an unexplained daylong absence.

Thomas, 75, sat in his usual seat, to the right of Chief Justice John Roberts, as the court convened to hear arguments in a case involving the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

Thomas has ignored calls from some progressive groups to move away from the cases involving Jan. 6 because his wife, Ginni, was attending to the then-president.

Donald

Trump’s rally near the White House before protesters descended on the Capitol. Ginni Thomas, a conservative activist, also texted senior Trump administration officials in the weeks after the election to express support and reiterated her belief that there was widespread fraud in the election.

Judge Thomas will miss Monday’s Supreme Court hearing without explanation

On Monday, Roberts announced Thomas’ absence

,

without giving an explanation. Judges sometimes miss court, but participate remotely. Thomas did not participate in Monday’s arguments.

He was hospitalized two years ago with an infection, which forced him to miss several court hearings. He also took part in the business at that time.

Thomas is the longest-serving of the current justices, joining the Supreme Court in 1991.