Government

Annual Population Numbers Indicate Alabama Might Hold On to Its Congressional Seats — Barely

The U.S. Census Bureau's annual population estimate of U.S. residents indicates Alabama could be pitted against New York for the possible loss of a U.S. House of Representatives seat after the decennial census is released. The estimates as they stand now would put Alabama's population just high enough to keep its present seven representatives, with New York losing a seat, according to an analysis by the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama. Read more.

by Virginia MacDonald

Birmingham Gets New Economic Director, Water Board Members

Although still recovering from COVID-19-related pneumonia, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin announced three major political appointments Tuesday morning, including a new director of innovation and economic opportunity and two members of the Birmingham Water Works Board. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Democrats Gearing Up for Effort to Oust Mo Brooks in 2022

Alabama Democrats are targeting U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, a five-term GOP incumbent once thought safe in his heavily Republican 5th Congressional District, for defeat in 2022. “I plan to use whatever small influence I have to see that Mo is defeated,’’ said former Alabama Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb. “We don’t need an ideologue representing Alabama.’' Brooks is at the center of Democratic outrage over fiery comments he made last Wednesday at a rowdy Washington rally of President Donald Trump’s supporters who cheered his false accusations that the November election had been rigged to elect Democrat Joe Biden. Read more.

by John Anderson

Electoral College Vote Certified in Tumultuous Week on Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON — Sen. Richard Shelby, a Republican, and Rep. Terri Sewell, a Democrat, were the only two of Alabama’s congressmen who voted last week to accept presidential election results certified by the states of Arizona and Pennsylvania. But Electoral College votes eventually were certified and President-elect Joe Biden was declared winner of the election. Opponents of accepting, or certifying, the votes said Congress should appoint a commission to audit the 2020 presidential balloting in Arizona and five other states Biden narrowly carried. The votes occurred the night an armed mob of Trump supporters streamed through the Capitol, destroying property, defiling historical spaces and forcing lawmakers to shelter in place for extended periods, many behind barricaded doors. Read more.

by Richard G. Thomas, Voterama in Congress

Alabamians and Politicians Connect to the Insurrection From Start to Finish

Whether you call it a coup attempt, an insurrection or a protest that went horribly wrong, the Jan. 6 invasion by supporters of President Trump into the U.S. Capitol involved Alabamians in several ways. A Falkville Trump supporter has been arrested on charges involving weapons and Molotov cocktails filled with a homemade napalm-like explosive. An Athens man died of a heart attack outside the Capitol as police were trying to repel the mob. Fingers are pointing at U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, a Republican from Alabama, because of his speech at a Trump rally before the riot in which he urged the crowd on toward dramatic action. Freshman Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s name has come up in reports about the day as Trump and Rudy Giuliani tried to call Tuberville’s office to urge him to delay action while senators were debating the certification of the electoral college votes. And the state’s attorney general is calling for the investigation of a group he leads after learning it actively promoted attendance at the rally. Read more.

by Nick Patterson

Alabama Man Faces Federal Charges Following Riots at the U.S. Capitol

UPDATED — Lonnie Leroy Coffman, a 70-year-old from Falkville, Alabama, faces federal charges after being arrested this week during riots at the U.S. Capitol. Coffman faces 17 federal charges including five counts of unlawfully carrying multiple pistols, a rifle, and a shotgun; one count of unlawful possession of an ammunition feeding device; five counts of

by Miranda Fulmore, WBHM

Birmingham Pastor Calls for a State of Emergency Over Murder Rate

Birmingham ended in 2020 with 122 killings – up by 13%. Of that total, 105 killings were ruled justifiable, mirroring a trend of increase in many American cities. The city began 2021 with three killings in three days – one per day. Rev. Paul Hollman of Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in Birmingham launched a billboard campaign last year to raise awareness after a member of his church was shot to death. This week he called for Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin to declare a state of emergency. Hollman spoke with WBHM’s Andrew Yeager. Read more.

by Andrew Yeager, WBHM

One Alabamian Dies During Siege at U.S. Capitol

One person from Alabama is dead after yesterday’s riots at the U.S. Capitol. Read more.

by Miranda Fulmore, WBHM

Jones Not Biden’s Pick for AG, But Don’t Count Him Out of the Administration Just Yet

UPDATED — Former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones had a lot of assets that put him on the short list of candidates for attorney general in the incoming Biden Administration. Read more.

by Tom Gordon

Alabama Congress Members Caught Off Guard by Violence at the Capitol

At a Wednesday morning rally near the White House, U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Huntsville, told the pro-Trump crowd that “today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass.” Brooks is the leader of a group of representatives challenging the Electoral College votes of three states President-elect Joe Biden won in the November election. A few hours later, he was among hundreds of legislators hunkering down and then fleeing as Trump supporters broke through police lines and stormed into the Capitol building, leading to a lockdown that stalled certification of November’s vote. One woman was shot in the chest and died, and several law enforcement officers were injured in the melee, the District of Columbia mayor said in a press conference. “DOORS LOCKED! CAPITOL COMPLEX BREACHED! CHAMBER DOORS LOCKED. SPEAKER LEAVES!” Brooks first tweeted while detailing his experience in the Capitol. He later tweeted that the police evacuation of the House of Representatives was “hurried but otherwise orderly” and said he “heard loud shouting echoing down Capitol halls during evacuation.” Read more.

by Sam Prickett and Virginia Martin