Pa. The Democratic candidate’s oldest pro-gun, anti-Kaepernick posts have caught fire
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A Pennsylvania Democrat is apologizing for Facebook posts defending police officers during Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 and supporting gun rights as he fights for his party’s nomination in a key battleground state race.
Bob Brooks, a retired firefighter and former union leader, is seeking to unseat Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Penn., who was first elected in 2024 after defeating Democratic incumbent Susan Wild by about 4,000 votes. Brooks has focused his campaign on attracting blue-collar Americans without college degrees to a platform that includes advocating for training and union support, while embracing liberal policies like Medicaid for All.
A local blogger argued that Brooks should not run on the Democratic ticket because he posted a pro-gun rights meme on his Facebook page the day after a shooting in El Paso, Texas, in 2019, the Washington Post first reported. 23 people were shot and killed by a white nationalist inside a Walmart.
Brooks shared a photo of Clint Eastwood holding a gun with the following words overlaid on the photo: “The problem is not guns. Hearts without God, homes without discipline, schools without prayer and courts without justice.” The meme also included an image of a skull with the Roman numeral III on its forehead. The brand has been linked to the Three Percenters, a radical right-wing militant group based on anti-government ideology.
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Bob Brooks is a retired firefighter and is running for Congress in Pennsylvania’s 7th district (Bob Brooks of Congress)
Fox News Digital has reached out to Brooks for comment.
On his campaign page, Brooks said he respects the Second Amendment and that he has used guns all his life. However, he wants stricter gun laws.
“We need sensible laws: universal background checks, banning gun shows, and enforcing waiting periods to keep dangerous people from getting their hands on guns,” Brooks’ campaign page says. “This won’t change things for honest gun owners, but it will change kids who are afraid to go to school.”
In another Facebook post in 2019, Brooks reportedly called NFL athlete Colin Kaepernick a “douchebag” amid controversy over Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality. Kaepernick had publicly pushed for Nike to pull merchandise featuring the Betsy Ross flag from stores, prompting Brooks to share an American flag meme with the caption “Colin Kaepernick doesn’t like this flag, so I’m going to share it.”
Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., arrives at a House Education and Labor Committee hearing titled “Beyond The Ivy League: Stop the Spread of Antisemitism on American Campuses,” at the Rayburn Building on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images)
Amid the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020 following the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, Brooks wrote that people should not forget that there are good police officers. He cited police responses to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the Boston Marathon bombings as examples of police officers rising to the occasion.
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“I think we’ve forgotten the good,” Brooks wrote. “Demanding change in police departments to get rid of bad cops is fine. But please remember the good ones.”
In response to reports posted on Facebook, Brooks accused “a lot of people in DC who don’t want more people working in the office to choose age-old Facebook posts.” He also apologized for being vague.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, Vt. and Congressional candidate Bob Brooks pose for a photo together. (Bob Brooks of Congress)
“I shared a few stupid things over the years, and for that I apologize,” Brooks said in a statement to The Washington Post. “I believe in who I fought for and my values have always been clear.”
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Brooks has received endorsements from prominent Pennsylvania Democratic leaders, including Gov. Josh Shapiro and Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, and national Democratic figures such as Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., and Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The Pennsylvania primary is Tuesday, May 19.
