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Mo Brooks trolled for accidentally tweeting Gmail password: 'Thanks for sharing'

Alabama Representative Mo Brooks unknowingly tweeted his Gmail password when blasting Rep Eric Swalwell for serving a subpoena

Alabama Representative Mo Brooks is in the middle of a massive storm following the lawsuit filed by Rep Eric Swalwell. The California Democrat filed the suit for Brook's role in the January 6 insurrection and had to get a private investigator to serve the papers at his residence. But that's not even the biggest part of the story.

The big news is that the Republican Rep accidentally shared his Gmail password when tweeting about the matter. Internet security has become a major political flashpoint in 2020, thanks to the pandemic. We have seen countless examples of Zoombombing and hacking over the last year, even at the highest levels. And like it or not, Republicans have been a prime target. In December 2020, Donald Trump's Twitter account was hacked after someone guessed his password — 'MAGA2020!'

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The GOP isn't the brightest when it comes to internet security, as Brooks showed yet again. This follows Rep Lance Gooden (R-TX), who entered his phone's pin on national TV during a House Financial Services hearing. Brooks' tweet is still up, even after countless users noted that his Gmail password is visible. Here's the story of how that came to be. 

Brooks shares Alabama law and Gmail password

Brooks' tweet came after he was served with a lawsuit by Swalwell. According to reports, Swalwell's lawyers hired a private investigator to serve the papers at Brooks' Alabama home after Brooks reportedly evaded being served. "We asked him to waive service, we offered to meet him at a place of his choosing. Instead of working things out like a civilized person, he engaged in a juvenile game of Twitter trolling over the past few days and continued to evade service. He demanded that we serve him. We did just that," an attorney for Swalwell said. 

Brooks alleged that Swalwell's team broke into his house and accosted his wife. That's when he put out the tweet, saying, "@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!" Along with that tweet, Brooks also took a photo of his laptop to show the code of Alabama, and laws which he believes Swalwell violated. 

But below the open browser tab, eagle-eyed Twitter users noticed a yellow sticky note with the Representative's Gmail password and a pin noted down. It's unclear what that pin is for exactly, but there's no mistaking the password which is marked with "= GMail". It didn't take long for that revelation to make its way to social media, leading to widespread trolling. 

Brooks 'not a criminal mastermind for sure'

"Dude, is that your gmail account and password in that picture? Asking for a friend," one user tweeted. Another noted, "You tape your passwords to your laptop? And then take a picture and tweet it to the world? And, wait - hang on! - you’re on the Armed Services subcommittee for Cyber, Innovative Technologies and Information Systems? Surely not! Even Gohmert’s not this dumb."

One user dryly noted Brooks was "Not a criminal mastermind for sure." Another jokingly replied, "Sir, can you post your bank account number, that pin is just dying to be put to use." One person commented, "Real top notch IT security practices you've got going there, putting your passwords on a sticker right on your laptop."

One user tweeted, "Republicans: these cyber attacks are getting out of control!! We must stop them! Also republicans: a republican sitting member of congress tweets a photo of his Gmail password." Another said, "While ranting like a lunatic and claiming to be a victim because his wife was handed a piece of paper, Mo Brooks accidentally tweeted his Gmail password and pin numbers. He's Mr. Underhill from Fletch." One said, "Thanks for sharing your passwords with all of Twitter, dumbass." One more said, "What. An. Idiot. Thanks for sharing your password with the world. Glad to know you are on the committee responsible for our nation’s cyber security. I feel much safer knowing you are on the case."

Back in 2019, Rudy Giuliani made headlines after it came to light that he needed help unlocking his iPhone, after he forgot the password. Within a few weeks, he also accidentally shared a password with a reporter. Both Trump and Gooden were massively trolled for their simple passwords, and now it seems like Brooks will join them. Brooks has deleted the tweet and re-shared the image after cropping out the password.