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Chip Brownlee

Chip Brownlee is a former political reporter, online content manager and webmaster at the Alabama Political Reporter. He is now a reporter at The Trace, a non-profit newsroom covering guns in America.

News

Troy University fires police chief over offensive posts about George Floyd

Troy University has fired its police chief after he made comments on Facebook saying that George Floyd, who was killed by Minneapolis police sparking nationwide protests, “absolutely” played a role in his own death — among other inflammatory and controversial comments. In a statement Tuesday, Troy said it terminated John McCall’s employment as chief of … Continued
June 9, 2020

AG asks for clarification about removal of Mobile Confederate statue

Attorney General Steve Marshall last week sent a letter to Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson asking for clarification about why the city removed a statue dedicated to Confederate admiral, and a spokesperson said the state is still waiting for a response before moving forward with legal action against the city. In the letter, Marshall asked Stimpson … Continued
June 9, 2020

Assisted living facilities ask for emergency funding, federal support

The American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living on Monday sent a letter to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and the director of FEMA asking for emergency funding and federal support for assisted living centers to respond to COVID-19. The associations requested $5 billion in emergency funding … Continued
June 9, 2020

University of Alabama removes Confederate plaques from campus

The University of Alabama System’s Board of Trustees has approved the removal of three plaques honoring Confederates from prominent locations on the Quad and main library of the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa. The system also said it has appointed a group of trustees to review and study the names of buildings on all … Continued
June 8, 2020

“I’ve never felt the fear I felt then:” Demonstrators describe police action at Huntsville protest

Protesters gathered in Huntsville on Wednesday, first at an NAACP rally against police brutality, and later an unorganized protest downtown near the Madison County courthouse. The largely peaceful demonstrations ended when police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at demonstrators who refused to disperse after a protest permit expired at 6:30 p.m. The Huntsville Police … Continued
June 5, 2020

Mobile removes Confederate monument overnight

The city of Mobile removed a Confederate monument from downtown overnight following days of protest in Mobile and nationwide over police brutality and systemic racism. Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson said he ordered the statue removed from its prominent location in downtown Mobile overnight. “Moving this statue will not change the past,” Stimpson said in a … Continued
June 5, 2020

State says issue causing under-reporting of COVID-19 cases resolved

Update, Saturday, June 6 at 11:45 a.m.: The Alabama Department of Public Health, in a statement Saturday, said the issue with a computer system has been resolved. ADPH: “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Alabama Department of Public Health, and its vendor have resolved issues related to delays in the national surveillance system. Delays … Continued
June 4, 2020

Huntsville police chief: Protesters “brought this on themselves”

Huntsville’s police chief and the Madison County sheriff defended the use of tear gas and rubber bullets on protesters in downtown Huntsville Wednesday evening, claiming the demonstrators “came here for the fight, not us.” Chief Mark McMurray said Thursday that demonstrators — whom he described as “anarchists” — “brought this on themselves” after refusing to … Continued
June 4, 2020

Police deploy tear gas, rubber bullets on peaceful protesters in Huntsville

Police in Huntsville deployed tear gas and fired rubber bullets at peaceful protesters and demonstrators chanting “I can’t breathe” in downtown Huntsville Wednesday evening, injuring several people, including a small child. Video from the scene shows demonstrators at the aftermath of an Alabama NAACP rally peppered with rubber bullets and tear gas as law enforcement … Continued
June 3, 2020

State files lawsuit against Birmingham for removing Confederate monument

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall filed a new lawsuit against the city of Birmingham Tuesday for removing a Confederate monument in Linn Park. Local officials in Alabama’s largest city, which has a majority black population, removed a 115-year-old Confederate Soldiers and Sailors monument in the city’s Linn Park after protestors and demonstrators vandalized it Sunday. … Continued
June 2, 2020