GOP Rep. Mo Brooks taunts colleague while dodging lawsuit over role in Jan. 6 Capitol attack

Republican Congressman Mo Brooks of Alabama is now openly dodging a lawsuit over his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, taunting the Democratic representative who originally filed the suit online over the fact that intermediaries could not locate Brooks to serve the court papers.

This article first appeared in Salon.

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-California, claimed in a court filing this week that the private investigator he hired to search for Brooks failed to find him — while a judge declined to enlist the help of the U.S. Marshals Service over "separation of powers concerns."

Brooks, meanwhile, has taken to thumbing his nose at Swalwell and court officials on Twitter, posting a cheeky image Friday of himself on a Wild West-style "wanted" poster alongside pictures of himself at four public events around Alabama. "If found, please contact Eric Swalwell," the tweet reads.

Earlier in the week, Brooks replied to a story about the lawsuit posted by CNN anchor Jim Acosta, with an image of himself in sunglasses, a baseball cap and a handwritten note that simply says, "I am not Mo."

He's tagged Swalwell at least a half-dozen times in other tweets this week, eventually releasing a statement on his public Facebook page calling the lawsuit "meritless" and "politically motivated.

"I have altered my conduct not one iota since Swalwell's politically motivated, meritless lawsuit was filed. I have made dozens of publicized public appearances since the lawsuit was filed. If Swalwell was sincere about suit service, he could have served me at any of these public events."

The lawsuit seeks to prove Brooks' role in inciting the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6 to stop Congress from certifying the election victory for current President Joe Biden. The Alabama congressman gave an incendiary speech at a rally in Washington on the day of the attack, just minutes before then-President Donald Trump.

In addition to Brooks, Swalwell also named Trump, his son Donald Trump Jr. and Rudy Giuliani as defendants in the lawsuit.

On Wednesday, the California Democrat asked the judge — and was granted — 60 extra days to serve Brooks.