Rep. Mo Brooks uses gunshot audio from Alexandria shooting in campaign ad
WASHINGTON - Representative Mo Brooks, R-Al., used audio from the Alexandria baseball practice shooting in a recent GOP Senate primary campaign ad.
The congressman was at the practice where House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., and four others were injured after police said 66-year-old James Hodgkinson opened fire.
RELATED: Rep. Scalise remains in hospital after Alexandria shooting
The audio of gunshots and frantic shouts comes at the beginning of the ad over the text, "June 14: A Bernie Sanders supporter fires on Republican Congressmen" and "Mo Brooks gives his belt as a tourniquet to help the wounded."
The ad also includes an interview clip of Brooks, still in sweaty practice clothes, speaking with media outlets immediately after the shooting.
"The Second Amendment, the right to bear arms, is to help ensure that we always have a republic. So no, I'm not changing my position on any of the rights we enjoy as Americans," Brooks said.
Brett Horton, Rep. Scalise's chief of staff, tweeted that the ad "makes [his] stomach turn."
Brooks defended the ad, telling Politico it does not leverage the shooting.
The Alabama primary will take place Aug. 15. The race is a three-way competition between Brooks, former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore and incumbent Luther Strange, who is endorsed by the National Rifle Association, according to Al.com.