Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., accused a private investigator hired by Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., of illegally trespassing on his property in order to serve him a lawsuit regarding the Jan. 6 Electoral College certification vote.
Swalwell sued Brooks, former president Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, alleging they helped to deprive Swalwell of his civil rights by encouraging “violence” among the Capitol siege participants.
Brooks, however, managed to avoid service in the suit on account of heightened security in the Capitol, which makes it difficult for outsiders to get in to congressional offices.
Swalwell accused Brooks of intentionally evading his lawsuit, an allegation Brooks denied.
“I am avoiding no one. I have altered my conduct not one iota since Swalwell’s politically motivated, meritless lawsuit was filed,” he said.
Over the weekend, Swalwell’s private investigator tracked down Brooks’s wife at his Alabama home and delivered the lawsuit, according to Brooks.
.@EricSwalwell Well, Swalwell FINALLY did his job, served complaint (on my WIFE).
HORRIBLE Swalwell’s team committed a CRIME by unlawfully sneaking INTO MY HOUSE & accosting my wife!
Alabama Code 13A-7-2: 1st degree criminal trespass. Year in jail. $6000 fine.
More to come! pic.twitter.com/XSrFnezDlC
— Mo Brooks (@RepMoBrooks) June 6, 2021
Brooks pointed to Alabama’s trespassing statute and accused Swalwell’s private investigator of illegally trespassing.
His spokesman also said the lawmaker had filed a complaint with police over the incident.
“Swalwell’s process server entered the Brooks’ home without Martha Brooks’ knowledge and without her consent,” spokesman Clay Mills told the Washington Post. “Then he refused to leave when Mrs. Brooks demanded it. There is video proof. The Brooks’ filed a police report.”
Swalwell’s lawyer denied that the private investigator illegally entered Brooks’s home.
“No one entered or even attempted to enter the Brooks’ house,” lawyer Philip Andonian told CNN. “That allegation is completely untrue.”
Another Swalwell attorney, Philip Adonian, told Forbes that Brooks’ trespassing allegation “utterly false” and said the private investigator “lawfully handed the papers to Mo Brooks’ wife at their home… which is perfectly legitimate under the federal rules.”
