On Thursday, a North Carolina man drove a truck onto a sidewalk outside the Library of Congress, demanding to meet with President Joe Biden, ranting about a “revolution” and claiming he had explosives. After the man was arrested, Rep. Mo Brooks — the Alabama Republican who helped stoke the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol — issued a statement appearing to offer empathy to the suspect, expressing understanding at “citizenry anger directed at dictatorial Socialism.”
Brooks’ right-wing extremism is well established, but where are the other Republican voices rising to censure him and declare this isn’t the sentiment of their party?
There is plenty of blame to go around for the deadly insurrection of Jan. 6. It wasn’t just the chief instigator, then-President Donald Trump, who whipped up the anti-democracy mob but also elected fellow-travelers like Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, whose key challenge of election results lent undeserved credence to Trump’s vote-fraud lies.
