Rep. Mo Brooks Says He ‘Understands’ D.C. Bomb Threat Suspect Floyd Ray Roseberry

A Trump supporter, who threatened to detonate a bomb at the U.S. Capitol unless all the Democrats stepped down, eventually surrendered and was arrested Thursday near the Capitol.

As the standoff was still going on between the suspect and police, Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Alabama) made a statement on Thursday in which he said he understood the suspect’s “anger directed at dictatorial Socialism.”

“Although this terrorist’s motivation is not yet publicly known, and generally speaking, I understand citizenry anger directed at dictatorial Socialism and its threat to liberty, freedom and the very fabric of American society,” Brooks wrote in his statement, which he shared on his Twitter.

“The Saw to stop Socialism’s march is for patriotic Americans to fight back in upcoming election cycles,” Brooks added. “I strongly encourage patriotic Americans to do exactly that more so than ever before. Bluntly stated, America’s future is at risk.”

Following his statement, fellow House members blasted him for being sympathetic to a terrorist.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Illinois), who was one of ten House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, replied to Brooks’ tweeted, simply writing “evil.”

“The GOP has a decision to make. Are we going to be the party that keeps stoking sympathy for domestic terrorists and pushes out truth, or finally take a stand for truth,” Kinzinger wrote in another tweet. “I’ve made my decision, so has Mo. Now it’s up to GOP conference leadership to make theirs.”

Rep. Don Beyer (D-Virginia) also criticized Brooks for “expressing public sympathy” towards a terrorist.

“It is astonishing that this needs to be said but no one who serves in Congress should be expressing public sympathy with the views of a terrorist who threatened to blow up the U.S. Capitol. I would have thought we could all at least agree on that,” Beyer tweeted.

The suspect who was arrested on Thursday was Floyd Ray Roseberry, 49, from North Carolina.

Article by Dongyoon Shin