“The United States hereby reports that the Department has declined to issue a certification because it cannot conclude that Brooks was acting within the scope of his office or employment as a Member of Congress at the time of the incident out of which the claims in this case arose,” the Justice Department wrote in a filing. “In light of the Department’s declination, the United States should not be substituted as a defendant in this action.”

The Justice Department ultimately concluded that Brooks’ activities at the rally were political in nature — pro-Trump electioneering — and thus not part of his official responsibilities.

“The record indicates that Brooks’s appearance at the January 6 rally was campaign activity, and it is no part of the business of the United States to pick sides among candidates in federal elections,” the filing said, adding that federal courts have “routinely rejected claims that campaigning and electioneering” are part of lawmakers’ official duties.

They later said, “Members (of Congress) run for reelection themselves and routinely campaign for other political candidates. But they do so in their private, rather than official, capacities.”