An interview with Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) on Tuesday got heated when the congressman was asked repeatedly about his actions on January 6, as well as his refusal to sit down with the congressional subcommittee investigating the Capitol riot. The congressman was recently listed as one of multiple Republican lawmakers being subpoenaed by the committee.

Brooks, who is currently running for Senate, accused NBC reporter Vaughn Hillyard of “distorting” his past comments after the Republican was asked why he was wearing body armor when he spoke to a crowd of Donald Trump supporters on January 6th when he told them they need to be ready to “take names and kick ass” in upcoming elections.

According to Brooks, the body armor was worn due to potential threats from “elements” of Antifa and Black Lives Matter, but he claimed it had “nothing to do with pro-Trump supporters.”

“Do you regret stoking, by using those words, by stoking the crowd there that ultimately led to that attack?” Hillyard asked.

“You are distorting my remarks when you say that,” Brooks responded. “Let’s be real clear. We have had a Barack Obama federal judge who has entered a court order saying there’s no plausible argument that can be advanced that my conduct had anything to do with the attack on the United States Capitol. That ends it. Okay?”

After some back and forth, Hillyard pushed Brooks further on his remarks on January 6.

“Congressman, you had said that people in the past had given their lives for this country and that people need to be prepared to do the same. I was standing outside of the Capitol that day. We were ill-equipped for what happened. There was an attack on the U.S. Capitol. Clearly, you had information that led you to put body armor on that day. Why did the rest of the public not know?” Hillyard asked.

Brooks again claimed “left-wing elements” were behind potential threats, to which Hillyard responding by pressing and asking again why Brooks would not simply sit down with the subcommittee and say that.

“Why not let me finish my sentence, okay?” Brooks said, adding after some chatter, “Is that the way you’re going to conduct this interview, to interrupt me every time I try to speak. If so, you go and tell the camera what you think I oughta say.”

According to Brooks, who has seen a surge in polls since Trump took back his endorsement, one of his conditions for sitting down with the January 6 committee is the interview needs to be done publicly. He also claimed he has not actually been served with a subpoena from the committee.

Things became heated once again at the end of Hillyard’s interview when the two discussed the 2020 election, which Brooks suggested contained massive fraud, even referencing the Dinesh D’Souza film 2000 Mules, in which the claims “mules” were used to cast fake ballots in 2020. Hillyard disputed the notion that the election was rigged or stolen and was quickly told by Brooks that he hasn’t done his “homework.”

“The big problem that I saw was the 800,000 to 1.7 million non-citizens that voted in 2020,” Brooks said.

“There is no proof that existed, congressman,” Hillyard said as he tried multiple times to wrap up the interview.

“Then you haven’t done your homework,” Brooks said. “You literally have not done your homework.”

Hillyard and Brooks did end with a handshake after their multiple verbal tiffs, with Brooks declaring about the reporter, “He’s as fiery as I’ve been with!”

Watch the full clip above, via MSNBC

The post Mo Brooks Gets Testy When Asked if He Regrets ‘Stoking the Crowd’ on Jan. 6 first appeared on Mediaite.

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