Clarence Thomas rejoins Supreme Court -- remotely -- after days-long hospital stay

March 28 (UPI) -- After spending several days in the hospital, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas resumed participating in hearing arguments on Monday, albeit remotely.

Thomas took part in oral arguments for the first time in more than a week. For most of last week, he was in a Washington, D.C., hospital with an infection.

Chief Justice John Roberts made the announcement of Thomas's participation remotely before the start of arguments on Monday.

The court previously announced that Thomas had been at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington since March 18 after experiencing flu-like symptoms. After the court said he was expected to stay in the hospital for a couple days, Thomas was eventually released after a week.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas (R) is seen with wife Virginia at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on September 23, 2020, as the flag-draped casket of late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg arrives to lie in state. File Photo by Andrew Harnik/UPI

Justice Thomas' return to the high court comes at a time that he and his wife Virginia are under heavy criticism for text messages that Virginia Thomas sent to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows after the 2020 presidential election.

In the messages, Virginia Thomas urged Meadows to take action to overturn President Joe Biden's election and keep Donald Trump in power. Nearly three dozen text messages were turned over to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump radicals.

Neither Virginia Thomas nor Justice Thomas have responded to reports about the messages, which were among many that Meadow turned over to the committee.