There are actually people who were at the Trump Coup Rally Wednesday who believe that those who stormed the Capitol in Washington D.C. were actually members of “antifa” disguised as supporters of President Donald Trump.
You wonder sometimes what people are really thinking. And, of course, Congressman Mo Brooks, R-Alabama, fell all in for that.
Brooks continually embarrasses Alabama. It’s his superpower. But he embarrassed Alabama overtime this week by speaking at Trump’s Coup Rally, helping get the crowd riled up by telling them it was time to “kick ass.”
Later that day, as Congress was certifying Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the next president and vice president, Brooks was among the Alabama Republicans who officially objected to one of the states’ slates of electors, acting the fool and wasting time.
Then, on Twitter Thursday morning, in three parts, Brooks shared his own version about the mob riot by Trump supporters outside and inside the Capitol building. Here’s Brooks’ full tweet thread:
“1. A Congressman warned me on MONDAY of a growing ANTIFA threat & advised that I sleep in my office rather than leaving the Capitol complex & sleeping in my condo. I heeded that advice & have slept on office floor for 4 straight nights.
“2. Congressman told me he was warned on TUESDAY by Capitol Police officer that intelligence suggest fascist ANTIFA was going to try to infiltrate the Trump rally by dressing like Trump supporters. 3. Capitol Police advised TUESDAY that it best not to leave Capitol complex.
“4. Evidence, much public, surfacing that many Capitol assaulters were fascist ANTIFAs, not Trump supporters. Again, time will reveal truth. Don’t rush to judgment. Don’t be fooled by #FakeNewsMedia whose political judgment drives their reporting. My view: Fully prosecute all.”
There is so much wrong with this three-part Tweet thread, it’s hard to know where to begin. That’s pretty typical when trying to figure out Brooks, though. Remember, he embarrassed himself and Alabama by claiming that climate change had nothing to do with rising sea levels. Instead, sea levels were rising because big rocks were falling into the ocean.
Yeah, him.
Anyway, maybe Brooks just doesn’t know what antifa stands for: anti-fascist. I’m antifa. It’s not an organization like, say, the Proud Boys, a racist, neofascist group Brooks probably identifies with and one that was involved in the Capitol riot Wednesday.
Antifa is a political philosophy. It’s part of my political philosophy. I oppose fascism. You know, people like Mussolini, Hitler and Trump. Antifa folks are usually liberal (I am), and are far more interested in social justice and fighting fascism. We care about facts, truth and science. It’s not an insult to be called antifa.
So it is difficult for an anti-fascist to also be a fascist, as Brooks describes.
Too, we know the 35-year-old woman who was shot and killed by Capitol Police was, indeed, a passionate Trump supporter.
Finally, a couple of hours after Brooks’ misleading Tweet, Forbes magazine reported this: “No verifiable evidence has been presented that antifa supporters were a part of the mob that infiltrated the Capitol building.”
We can report that at least one Alabama man was arrested, though. The New York Times reported that a 70-year-old man from Alabama was arrested near the Capitol yesterday with a firearm and Molotov cocktail materials. Capitol Police identified him as Lonnie Coffman of Falkville.
“He wasn’t radicalized by Antifa,” wrote an acquaintance on Twitter. “He was radicalized by irresponsible, racist, fear-mongering politicians like Mo Brooks. And even that didn’t make Mo Brooks stop.”
Another Alabama man died during the chaos, and he clearly wasn’t a member of “ANTIFA” and another is apparently listed as a person of interest by the Washington police.
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Brooks has been peddling the same lies as his idol Trump peddles: The election was rigged, and Trump was robbed.
Of course, that is absolutely not true, as thinking Americans know. Brooks and Trump are just sore losers and bad liars.
