Mo Brooks and Gary Palmer urge FBI director to call Congressional shooting an ‘act of domestic terrorism’
Mo Brooks and Gary Palmer joined other leaders, sending a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray. The letter urges Wray to call the 2017 shooting on Congress during a baseball game an act of domestic terrorism. Four people were shot during the practice session for the Annual Congressional Baseball game, including Congressman Steve Scalise, Capitol police officer Crystal Griner, congressional aide Zack Barth, and lobbyist Matt Mika. The shooter, James Hodgkinson, was shot and died from his wounds. According to CNN, Hodgkinson was a small business owner in Illinois who was very public on social media about his support of Bernie Sanders and his hatred of conservatives and President Donald Trump. Brooks stated on Twitter, “I joined several GOP colleagues who were targeted in 2017 by a Socialist gunman in sending a letter to @FBI Dir Wray, urging him to call the shooting what it was: an act of domestic terrorism that sought to assassinate Republican members of Congress. It was not “suicide by cop.” I joined several GOP colleagues who were targeted in 2017 by a Socialist gunman in sending a letter to @FBI Dir Wray, urging him to call the shooting what it was: an act of domestic terrorism that sought to assassinate Republican members of Congress. It was not “suicide by cop.” pic.twitter.com/gYj9fwOtLI — Mo Brooks (@RepMoBrooks) May 12, 2021 Other leaders who signed the letter include H. Morgan Griffith, Rodney Davis, Jeff Duncan, Barry Loudermilk, John Moolenaar, Jack Bergman, Roger Williams, Scott DesJarlais, Bill Johnson, Chuck Fleischmann, Kevin Brady, Trent Kelly, and Jim Jordan.
Mo Brooks using Alexandria shooting audio in campaign ad, skips vote on Capitol Police heroes
Senate Leadership Fund is once again blasting Senate candidate Mo Brooks for his latest campaign gaffes. This time, SLF is not the only group giving Brooks heat over a new campaign ad using audio from the shooting last month at a charity baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia. The 30-second spot – called “Second Amendment” — opens with sounds of the actual gunshots heard when “Bernie Sanders supporter” James Hodgkinson shot Majority Whip Steve Scalise, a lobbyist, a congressional aide, and a U.S. Capitol Police officer. Brooks was on scene during the Alexandria shooting, and the ad touts his giving a belt “as a tourniquet to help the wounded.” The ad closes with, “I’m Mo Brooks, candidate for the Senate, and I approve this message.” Several media outlets questioned the spot, and Scalise’s office condemned the ad. In addition, while Brooks was in Alabama campaigning for Senate, SLF points out that Brooks skipped several key House votes, including one that unanimously passed a bill aiding those Capitol Police Officers shot last month. Ironically, Brooks is one of the 128 co-sponsors of HR 3298, which seeks to authorize the Capitol Police Board to make payments from the Capitol Police Memorial Fund those officers who “sustained serious line-of-duty injuries.” Shortly after the shooting, Scalise’s wife praised Capitol Police Officers David Bailey and Crystal Grinner, saying in a statement that they “saved the lives of everyone at the baseball field.” Brooks absence raised several concerns. Asked by the Washington Examiner whether the Huntsville Republican simply missed the vote because of a scheduling error, Brooks campaign manager Clay Mills responded: “It was not an accident. I can’t speak to if Rep. Brooks personally knew if that bill would be considered, though.” An email from SLF email also outlines three other significant votes Brooks skipped Monday while on the Alabama campaign trail: — #407: Authorize funding for the CIA, NSA and Office of the National Intelligence Director. — #408: Providing an additional $2 billion in veterans’ health care funding. (409,997 veterans live in Alabama, SLF notes.) — #409: To eliminate the 15-year time limit to use Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits. SLF, the super PAC linked to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, is also behind MoBrooksMoLies.org, a website launched to fact-check Brooks as he faces a contentious Senate campaign against incumbent Sen. Luther Strange — who SLF is supporting — and former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore. A 10-person filed is vying for the Republican nomination to serve the remaining term of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Last week, Roll Call reported on internal polling for what is emerging as a close three-candidate race; Moore leads with 27 percent, Strange at 23 percent and Brooks at 21 percent. Alabama voters have until July 31 to register for the Aug. 15 special primaries, both Republican and Democratic. The last day to apply for an absentee ballot is Aug. 10. If there is no primary winner — with 50 percent plus one — a runoff is Sept. 26; the general election is Dec. 12.
