Watchdog asks for investigation into whether Rep. Mo Brooks incited riot with rally speechby Zack Budryk
The Hill
01/11/21 08:41 AM EST
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The liberal watchdog group Campaign for Accountability on Monday called for the Office of Congressional Ethics to open an investigation into whether Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) incited Wednesday’s deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol with a speech he made prior to rioters breaching the building.
In a letter, the group cites the conclusion of Brooks’s statement from the House floor Wednesday, which took place shortly before the siege of the Capitol.
“Today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass," Brooks said, adding, “Our ancestors sacrificed their blood, their sweat, their tears, their fortunes and sometimes their lives to give us, their descendants, an America that is the greatest nation in world history." He then asked the audience if they were “willing to do the same.”
The nonprofit watchdog cites Brooks’s comments in the letter, saying that it was "hardly surprising" that a mob of listeners responded to these comments by storming the Capitol.
“In light of these inflammatory calls for violent action, it is hardly surprising that listeners responded by descending on the U.S. Capitol and began to riot — using force to storm the building and prevent the Congress from carrying out its duty to count the Electoral College votes,” the letter states.
It goes on to accuse Brooks, the first House member to announce his objection to the Electoral College results, of potentially violating laws against incitement to riot, encouraging others to riot and aiding and abetting incitement of a riot.
It also claims that he may have “conspired with others, including President Trump, to use force” to prevent or delay the Electoral College certification.
The Campaign for Accountability further charges that Brooks breached House ethics rules regarding conduct that “reflects creditably on the House.”
“There can be no action that brings greater discredit to the House of Representatives than a member of Congress — who has sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution — inciting an angry mob to violently protest against the legitimate results of a democratic election,” the watchdog group wrote.The letter from the group comes as a newspaper publishing in the Alabama district Brooks serves has called for his resignation.
The Decatur Daily, on Sunday, ran an editorial that called for the lawmaker to resign.
The editorial echoes Missouri and Texas newspapers that have called for the resignations of Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who led the charge for Senate objections to the Electoral College certification.
Since the riots, Brooks has paid tribute to Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who was killed in the riot, but has also used his Twitter account to promote unsubstantiated conspiracy theories that the rioters were actually antifa activists.The Hill has reached out to Brooks’s office for comment.
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CAMPAIGN FOR ACCOUNTABILITY
611 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E. #337
Washington D.C. 20003
(202) 780-5750
campaignforaccountability.org
January 11, 2021
BY EMAIL:
oce@mail.house.govOmar Ashmawy
Staff Director and Chief Counsel
Office of Congressional Ethics
U.S. House of Representatives
425 3rd Street, S.W. Suite 1110
Washington, D.C. 20024
RE: Request for Investigation of Representative Morris “Mo” Brooks
Dear Mr. Ashmawy:
Campaign for Accountability (“CfA”) respectfully requests that the Office of Congressional Ethics (“OCE”) investigate whether Representative Morris “Mo” Brooks (R-AL) violated federal law by inciting a riot as part of a seditious conspiracy to use force to prevent Congress from carrying out its constitutional and statutory duties to count the votes of the Electoral College.Factual BackgroundOn January 6, 2021, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives met in joint session in accordance with the Twelfth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Electoral Count Act of 1887,1 to count the votes of the Electoral College and certify the election of Joseph R. Biden and Kamala Harris as the next President and Vice President of the United States.
Earlier that day, President Donald J. Trump and his allies, including Representative Morris “Mo” Brooks (R-AL), held a rally (the so-called “Save America March”) to urge President Trump’s supporters to march to the U.S. Capitol and use force to prevent Congress from carrying out its duty to count the votes of the Electoral College.
Representative Brooks was one of the speakers at the Save America March. His speech was carried live and broadcast nationally by the C-SPAN cable TV network.2 His speech was largely devoted to attacking Republican members of Congress for carrying out their constitutional and statutory duty of counting the votes of the Electoral College and certifying the election of President-Elect Joe Biden. Rep. Brooks’ speech concluded with the following call to action to President Trump’s supporters:
America does not need and cannot stand, cannot tolerate, any more weakling, cowering, wimpy Republican Congressman and Senators who covet the power and prestige the Swamp has to offer while groveling at the feet and the knees of the special interest group masters.
As such, today is important in another way.
Today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass!
Now our ancestors sacrificed their blood, their sweat, their tears, their fortunes and sometimes their lives to give us, their descendants, an America that is the greatest nation in world history.
Are you willing to do the same?
My answer is yes!
Louder!
Are you willing to do what it takes to fight for America?
Louder!
Will you fight for America?3
Following a similarly inflammatory speech by President Trump urging those congregated to “fight,” the people attending the Save America March began marching up Pennsylvania Avenue to the U.S. Capitol, where they and others stormed barricades erected by the U.S. Capitol Police, broke windows and pushed through doors to enter the Capitol Building, and then used force to try and gain entry to the chambers of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, where representatives and senators were debating an objection to the electoral college votes submitted by the state of Arizona. Both chambers had to be evacuated - temporarily achieving the rioters’ goal of preventing Congress from carrying out its constitutional and statutory duty to count the votes of the Electoral College.4
After the Members of Congress were evacuated, the rioters occupied both the Senate and House chambers, ransacking desks and offices in both bodies and destroying and stealing federal property. The U.S. Capitol Police received reinforcements from the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police, the Secret Service, and the National Guards of the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia and eventually, the rioters were ejected from the Capitol Building and the grounds of the U.S. Capitol. The House of Representatives and the Senate reconvened later that day and completed the counting of the Electoral College votes in the early morning hours of January 7, 2021.5
The riot incited by President Trump and Representative Brooks, among others, resulted in five deaths, including the murder of a U.S. Capitol Police officer.6Potential Violations
18 U.S.C. § 2101 (Riot)Federal law makes it a crime for anyone to use any “any facility of interstate or foreign commerce, including, but not limited to, the mail, telegraph, telephone, radio, or television” to (1) incite a riot, (2) organize, promote, encourage, participate in, or carry on a riot, or (3) aid or abet any person in inciting or participating in or carrying on a riot.7
Representative Brooks’ speech to the Save America March was broadcast live on the C-SPAN cable TV network. In his speech, Representative Brooks told listeners that “Today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass!” He compared the listeners to America’s founding generation and asked them if they were willing to sacrifice their lives for America. He then continued to whip his audience into a frenzy by asking them – repeatedly - if they were willing to “fight” for America. In light of these inflammatory calls for violent action, it is hardly surprising that listeners responded by descending on the U.S. Capitol and began to riot – using force to storm the building and prevent the Congress from carrying out its duty to count the Electoral College votes.
Accordingly, by appearing on the C-SPAN cable TV network and exhorting his audience to use violence to stop the counting of the Electoral College vote, it appears that Representative Brooks may have violated 18 U.S.C. § 2101 by (1) inciting a riot, (2) encouraging others to participate in or carry on a riot, or (3) aiding or abetting others, including President Trump, in inciting a riot.18 U.S.C. § 2384 (Seditious Conspiracy)Federal law makes it a crime for two or more persons to conspire to use “force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States,” or to conspire to use “force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof . . . .”8
Here it appears that Representative Brooks may have conspired with others, including President Trump, to use force to “prevent, hinder or delay” the House of Representatives and the Senate from carrying out their duty to execute the law to count the Electoral College votes pursuant to the Twelfth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Electoral Count Act of 1887.9
In addition, by appearing with President Trump at the Save America March and exhorting his listeners to march to the U.S. Capitol and start “taking names and kicking ass,” Representative Brooks may have conspired with others, including President Trump, to use force to “seize, take or possess property of the United States” – the U.S. Capitol Building itself as well as its contents.U.S. ConstitutionSection three of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides, in part:
No Person shall be a Senator or Representative or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State who, having previously taken an oath. . . to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.
This prohibition, enacted in the wake of the Civil War, was crafted to keep both federal and state governments free of those who had torn the country apart. Here, if the OCE finds that by encouraging an angry mob to “fight”, Representative Brooks may have engaged in insurrection or rebellion, absent a twothirds vote of the House, he is disqualified from remaining in the House of Representatives. Conduct Not Reflecting Creditably on the HouseRule XXIII of the House Ethics Manual requires all members of the House to conduct themselves at all times in a manner that reflects creditably on the House.10 This ethics standard is considered to be the most comprehensive provision of the code.11 When this section was first adopted, the Select Committee on Standards of Official Conduct of the 90th Congress noted that it was included within the Code to deal with flagrant violations of the law that reflect on Congress as a whole, and that might otherwise go unpunished.12 This rule has been relied on by the Ethics Committee in numerous prior cases in which the Committee found unethical conduct including: the failure to report campaign contributions,13 making false statements to the Committee,14 criminal convictions for bribery,15 accepting illegal gratuities,16 and accepting gifts from persons with interest in legislation in violation of the gift rule.17
There can be no action that brings greater discredit to the House of Representatives than a member of Congress – who has sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution – inciting an angry mob to violently protest against the legitimate results of a democratic election.ConclusionThe potential violations here – incitement to riot and seditious conspiracy – are among the most serious crimes in the U.S. Criminal Code. Seditious conspiracy is literally a crime against democracy itself. In addition, the facts here are especially egregious. The riot at the Capitol resulted in the loss of five lives, including the death of a U.S. Capitol Police officer, the terrorization of countless members of Congress, congressional staff, journalists and members of the Capitol Police who feared for their lives as the mob patrolled the Capitol, as well as the destruction of federal property, including numerous historical artifacts. The American people’s faith in the ability of its government institutions to function has been shaken by some the very individuals elected to run the government.
If you determine that there is substantial reason to believe that Representative Brooks violated either 18 U.S.C. § 2101, 18 U.S.C. § 2384, or House Rule XXIII you should recommend to the House Ethics Committee that he be expelled from the House of Representatives.Sincerely,
Michelle Kuppersmith
Executive Director
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Notes:1 U.S. Const., Amend. XII; 3 U.S.C. § 15.
2 See generally Rally on Electoral College Vote Certification, C-SPAN (January 6, 2021) (available at
https://www.c-span.org/video/?507744-1/ ... tification 37:55).
3 Id.
4 See generally Mob Attack, Incited By Trump, Delays Certification, The New York Times (January 6, 2021)(available at
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/06 ... toral-vote).
5 See generally Marc Fisher, Megan Flynn, Jessica Contrera and Carol D. Leonning, The Four-Hour Insurrection - How a Trump Mob Halted American Democracy, The Washington Post (January 7, 2021)(available at
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics ... n-capitol/).
6 Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick Dies From Injuries in Pro-Trump Riot, The New York Times (January 8, 2021)(available at
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/08/us/b ... -dies.html).
7 18 U.S.C. § 2101(a).
8 18 U.S.C. § 2384.
9 U.S. Const., Amend. XII; 3 U.S.C. § 15.
10 Rule 23, clause 1.
11 House Comm. on Standards of Official Conduct, House Ethics Manual, p. 12.
12 House Comm. on Standards of Official Conduct, Report Under the Authority of H. Res. 418, H. Rep. No. 1176, 90th Cong., 2d Sess. 17 (1968).
13 House Comm. on Standards of Official Conduct, In the Matter of Representative John J. McFall, H. Rep. No. 95- 1742, 95th Cong., 2d Sess. 2-3 (1978) (Count 1); In the Matter of Representative Edward R. Roybal, H. Rep. No. 95-1743, 95th Cong., 2d Sess. 2-3 (1978).
14 House Comm. on Standards of Official Conduct, In the Matter of Representative Charles H. Wilson (of California), H. Rep. No. 95-1741, 95th Cong., 2d Sess. 4-5 (1978); H. Rep. No. 95-1743(Counts 3-4).
15 House Comm. on Standards of Official Conduct, In the Matter of Representative Michael J. Myers, H. Rep. No. 96-1387, 96th Cong., 2d Sess. 2, 5 (1980); see 126 Cong. Rec. 28953-78 (Oct. 2, 1980) (debate and vote of expulsion); In the Matter of Representative John W. Jenrette, Jr., H. Rep. No. 96-1537, 96th Cong., 2d Sess. 4 (1980) (Member resigned); In the Matter of Representative Raymond F. Lederer, H. Rep. No. 97-110, 97th Cong., 1st Sess. 4, 16-17 (1981) (Member resigned after Committee recommended expulsion). In another case, the Committee issued a Statement of Alleged Violation concerning bribery and perjury, but took no further action when the Member resigned (In the Matter of Representative Daniel J. Flood, H. Rep. No. 96-856, 96th Cong., 2d Sess. 4- 16, 125-126 (1980)).
16 House Comm. on Standards of Official Conduct, In the Matter of Representative Mario Biaggi, H. Rep. No. 100- 506, 100th Cong., 2d Sess. 7, 9 (1988) (Member resigned while expulsion resolution was pending).
17 House Comm. on Standards of Official Conduct, In the Matter of Representative Charles H. Wilson (of California), H. Rep. No. 96-930, 96th Cong. 2d Sess. 4-5 (1980); see 126 Cong. Rec. 13801-20 (June 10, 1980) (debate and vote of censure).
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Congressman Mo Brooks on House Floor Calls for Honest & Accurate Electionsby Congressman Mo Brooks
Press Release
January 7, 2021
Washington, DC— Wednesday, Congressman Mo Brooks (AL-05) gave an impassioned speech supporting honest and accurate elections by echoing Arizona Congressmen Gosar (AZ-04) & Biggs’ (AZ-05) opposition to certification of their own state’s electoral college submittal. Congressman Brooks’ speech focused on Democrat support of voting by noncitizens in American elections.
Full text of Congressman Brooks’ speech follows:Madam Speaker, for years, Democrats and their media allies deceived America about Trump-Russian collusion and the extent of foreign interference in the 2020 election.
Yet, in 2020, Democrats promoted massive foreign interference in American elections by helping illegal aliens and other noncitizens vote in American elections, thereby cancelling the votes of, and stealing elections from, American citizens.
Want evidence?
Exhibit A. In 1993, Democrats rammed through Congress the National Voter Registration Act, making it illegal, illegal, to require proof of citizenship that prevents illegal aliens and noncitizens from registering to vote.[1]
Why did Democrats do that?
Simple. To steal elections, of course.
Exhibit B. How bad is the noncitizen voting problem?
In 2005, Democrat President Jimmy Carter’s Commission on Federal Election Reform warned that “Non-citizens have registered to vote in several recent elections” and recommended that “all states should use their best efforts to obtain proof of citizenship before registering voters.”
Exhibit C. A June 2005 General Accountability Office report discovered that up to 3 percent of people on voter registration lists are not U.S citizens.[2]
Exhibit D. In 2008, Electoral Studies surveyed 339 noncitizens. 8% admitted voting in American elections.[3][4]
As an aside, I have seen higher percentages in other studies.
Exhibit E. The 2010 Census counted 11 million illegal aliens in America.
Exhibit F. A 2018 Yale study estimated as many as 22 million illegal aliens in America![5]
Exhibit G. The math means between 880,000 and 1.72 million illegal aliens illegally voted in the 2020 elections.
Exhibit H. In 2014, Old Dominion University and George Mason University professors surveyed noncitizens and illegal aliens and found they vote Democrat roughly 80% of the time.[6]
Exhibit I. The math is again straight-forward. The 60% Biden advantage times the illegal alien voting number means Joe Biden gained roughly 1,032,000 votes from illegal alien voting. That's the high number.
Exhibit J. While no one knows for sure how massive the illegal alien voting block is, we do know Joe Biden and his campaign believed it large enough, and critical enough, to winning the presidential race that, at the October 22 Presidential Debate, Joe Biden publicly solicited the illegal alien block vote by promising, “Within 100 days, I’m going to send to the United States Congress a pathway to citizenship for over 11 million undocumented people.”[7]
Ladies and gentelemen, Madam Speaker, that is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for illegal aliens. Joe Biden knew exactly what he was doing by seeking the illegal alien block vote.
After all, on May 11, 1993, then Senator Joe Biden voted for the National Voter Registration Act that makes it illegal to require proof of citizenship from illegal aliens and other noncitizens when they seek to register to vote!
Madam Speaker, the evidence is compelling and irrefutable.
Noncitizens overwhelmingly voted for Joe Biden in exchange for the promised amnesty and citizenship and, in so doing, helped steal the election from Donald Trump, Republican candidates, and American citizens all across America.
Madam Speaker, in my judgment, if only lawful votes cast by eligible American citizens are counted, Joe Biden lost, and President Trump won, the electoral college.
As such, it is my Constitutional duty to promote honest and accurate elections by rejecting electoral college vote submissions from states whose electoral systems are so badly flawed as to render their vote submissions unreliable, untrustworthy, and unworthy of acceptance.
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Notes: [1] Kansas challenged this Democrat abomination by requiring “satisfactory evidence of United States Citizenship” before registering someone to vote. Kan.Stat.Ann. §25 S2309(l)). Unfortunately, two Democrat-appointed 10th Circuit Court of Appeals judges held the National Voter Registration Act voids Kansas’ common-sense, pro-America law.
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/ap ... 04-29.html[2] U.S. Government Accountability Office, Report to Congressional Requesters, “Elections, Additional Data Could Help State and Local Officials Maintain Accurate Voter Registration Lists.”, June 2005.
https://cis.org/Report/NonCitizen-Voters; P. 42.
[3] “Do Non-Citizens Vote in U.S. Elections?” by Jesse T. Richman, Gulshan A. Chattha, and David Earnest. Elecctoral Studies, December 2014, Pages 149-157.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... 9414000973[4] Ibid. In 2020, Electoral Studies estimated that between 14,679 and 50,058 noncitizens voted in Arizona.
[5]
https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/ ... -estimates
