Mo Brooks — Former U.S. Representative (AL-5)
Category: Federal Legislator — Former U.S. Representative
Role: U.S. Representative (AL-5, 2011-2023); delivered incendiary “kick ass” speech at January 6 rally; ran for U.S. Senate 2022 (lost primary); un-endorsed by Trump for saying it was time to “move past” 2020; revealed Trump asked him to “remove Joe Biden” and hold new election; retired from Congress January 2023
Priority: P0
Documented Actions: 2021-2026 Timeline
2021: January 6 Rally Speech
January 6, 2021: Brooks delivered a fiery speech at the “Stop the Steal” rally immediately preceding the Capitol attack. Speaking to the crowd, he used language including telling supporters to “start taking down names and kicking ass.” He wore body armor to the rally. Brooks was one of the first members of Congress to publicly object to certification and had been promoting Stop the Steal messaging for weeks.
Brooks nearly lost his House committee assignments over the speech but was ultimately allowed to remain. He maintained the election was “stolen from Donald Trump” and characterized criticism of his speech as “distorted.”
2022: Senate Race, Trump Un-endorsement, and Key Revelation
March 2022: Trump withdrew his endorsement of Brooks’s U.S. Senate campaign after Brooks stated it was time to look forward rather than relitigate 2020. Trump called him “woke.”
Brooks’s explosive response: Brooks publicly stated that Trump had asked him in September 2021 to “rescind the 2020 elections, immediately remove Joe Biden from the White House, immediately put President Trump back in the White House, and hold a new special election for the presidency.” Brooks said he refused because there was no constitutional or statutory mechanism to do so, adding: “But I took a sworn oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
This revelation was significant because it confirmed that Trump continued actively seeking to overturn the election for months after January 6, and that he viewed his allies as instruments for achieving this goal regardless of legal authority.
May 2022: Brooks lost the Alabama Senate Republican primary, failing to advance to the runoff despite eventually winning back some Trump support.
2023: Retirement from Congress
SourcesAL.com; CNN; TIME; Alabama Political ReporterBrooks did not run for reelection to his House seat and retired from Congress in January 2023.
Pattern Analysis
Brooks is a unique figure: a January 6 rally speaker who was un-endorsed by Trump for insufficient loyalty to the election lie, and who then publicly revealed Trump’s continued demands to “remove Biden” months after January 6. His account provided direct evidence of Trump’s ongoing authoritarian intent beyond January 6 itself. Brooks’s story illustrates that even active participants in the coup attempt could be discarded by Trump for showing any deviation from the maximalist election denial position.
Severity Assessment
Immediate harm: High — incited crowd at January 6 rally with “kick ass” rhetoric; wore body armor suggesting awareness of violence potential; amplified election lies Democratic erosion: High — January 6 rally speech; election denial promotion; however, partially mitigated by his public revelation of Trump’s demands and his refusal to support extra-constitutional Biden removal Authoritarian markers: Inciting crowd before political violence; election denial; but notably set a boundary when Trump demanded actions beyond legal authority
Accountability Status
Current status: Retired from Congress (January 2023); no longer holding public office Legal exposure: Named in civil lawsuits related to January 6; DOJ reportedly investigated but no charges filed Election status: Lost 2022 Senate primary; did not seek House reelection
Investigative trail pointers (public records)
Education only — verify independently. Absence of hits is not proof.
| Channel | Starting points |
|---|---|
| Federal courts | CourtListener / PACER party and attorney searches (spelling variants) |
| Campaign finance | FEC + OpenSecrets for committees and donors tied to documented roles |
| Corporate / LLC | State secretary of state; OpenCorporates for cross-border shells from reporting |
| Sanctions / PEP | OpenSanctions when international business context is already sourced |
| Contracts / grants | USAspending.gov for named entities from investigations |
Use public-records-research-specialist, corporate-intelligence-investigator, and public-corruption-ombudsman evidence tiers.
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For Trump Supporters: Questions Worth Considering
Mo Brooks wore body armor to the January 6 rally and told the crowd to “start taking down names and kicking ass.” He was one of Trump’s most vocal January 6 supporters. Trump endorsed his Senate campaign. Then, when Brooks said it was time to look forward rather than relitigate 2020, Trump withdrew his endorsement and called him “woke.” Brooks’s response was to publicly reveal what Trump had asked him to do in September 2021 — nine months after January 6. According to Brooks, Trump asked him to “rescind the 2020 elections, immediately remove Joe Biden from the White House, immediately put President Trump back in the White House, and hold a new special election for the presidency.” Brooks said he refused — because there was no constitutional or statutory mechanism to do so.
Here’s a question worth sitting with: Mo Brooks was a January 6 rally speaker and one of the earliest congressional promoters of the stolen election claim. He was inside Trump’s circle. When Trump turned on him, Brooks chose to tell the truth publicly about what Trump had asked him to do. What does it tell you that Trump, nine months after January 6, was still privately asking allies to “rescind” the election and remove Biden? And what does it tell you that it took Trump abandoning Brooks before Brooks told the public what Trump had actually requested?
A second question about the body armor: Brooks wore body armor to the January 6 rally. That’s not what you do at an event you believe is a peaceful First Amendment gathering. Body armor is what you wear when you believe there is a meaningful chance of violence. What does the decision to wear body armor to a political rally tell you about what the people organizing and speaking at that rally expected might happen?
Sources
- AL.com: “Mo Brooks says Trump wanted him to ‘remove Joe Biden,’ hold new election” (March 2022)
- CNN: “Brooks hopes to advance to a runoff in Alabama Senate race” (May 2022)
- AL.com: “Mo Brooks: 2020 election stolen from Donald Trump, ‘kick ass’ speech distorted” (July 2021)
- Alabama Political Reporter: “Mo Brooks nearly lost committee assignments over Jan. 6 Capitol speech” (April 2022)
- TIME: “Why Donald Trump Un-Endorsed Mo Brooks for Senate” (2022)
Last Updated: May 11, 2026
Profile Status: Inactive — retired from public office; historical accountability record
Next Review: Annually (or if re-enters public life)