(Photo : Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
CULLMAN, ALABAMA - AUGUST 21: Former U.S. President Donald Trump (R) welcomes candidate for U.S. Senate and U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) to the stage during a "Save America" rally at York Family Farms on August 21, 2021 in Cullman, Alabama. With the number of coronavirus cases rising rapidly and no more ICU beds available in Alabama, the host city of Cullman declared a COVID-19-related state of emergency two days before the Trump rally. According to the Alabama Department of Public Health, 67.5% of the state's population has not been fully vaccinated.
Alabama Republican Mo Brooks recently denied the allegations that he was involved in the planning of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
During a recent interview, Brooks claimed that he only decided to attend the "Stop the Steal" rally the day before the riot. And he insisted that he give a speech at the protest because it was part of his job as a member of Congress.
Brooks claimed that he didn't also know whether his staff was involved with the planning of the Capitol riot. But if they were, they would have his 100 percent support.
"Quite frankly, I'd be proud of them if they did help organize a First Amendment rally to protest voter fraud and election theft," Brooks said via the Huffington Post.
However, some critics slammed Brooks for seemingly trying to clear his name and then throwing his staff under the bus. Some of them also accused the Republican of lying because two people involved in the rally previously named Brooks as one of the planners.
Other than Brooks, Republican Reps. Paul Gosar, Lauren Boebert, Madison Cawthorn, Andy Biggs, and Louie Gohmert were also accused of organizing the "Stop the Steal" rally.
Is Mo Brooks involved in the Capitol riot?
In July, Brooks was also sued by former House impeachment manager Eric Swalwell for helping to organize the riot. However, Brooks denied his involvement and said that he was there as part of his job.
The Department of Justice didn't side with Brooks after stressing that his speech before the riot was not part of the scope of his employment.
According to Rolling Stone, Republicans planned to coordinate the Washington rally and events in states around the country. The initial plan was for the rally to occur at the Ellipse, where Donald Trump would show his supporters proof that the 2020 election was rigged.
Donald Trump still under investigation following the insurrection
The news of Brooks' possible involvement in the Capitol riot came in the heels of the bipartisan congressional investigation into the events on Jan. 6.
According to Insider, the panel is pursuing criminal contempt charges against former Trump aide Steve Bannon. The latter still refuses to share any information he might have about the insurrection.
Earlier this month, Trump also filed a lawsuit against the House select committee, which is in charge of investigating the Capitol riot.
The ex-POTUS also wants to exercise executive privilege on the 47 documents from the White House that the House select committee wants to look into.
But on Monday, White House general counsel Dana Remus told archives director David Ferriero that Joe Biden has not changed his mind regarding the releases of the second batch of documents.
Remus also said that Trump could not use his executive privilege on the Capitol riot because keeping information about the insurrection is not in the country's best interest.
As of late, it's unclear if and when the White House will release the documents to the public.
