Figures, Marques Say Easterbrook Should Resign, Then Trade Attacks in 2nd District Race

MOBILE, Ala. — U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures and his Republican challenger, state Rep. Rhett Marques, now agree on at least one thing: both say state Rep. Brett Easterbrook should resign from the Alabama Legislature after his arrest in an undercover sting earlier this month. But the two candidates in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District race quickly turned that shared position into another round of sharp political attacks on Friday.

Figures, the Democratic incumbent, opened the exchange with a Facebook post calling on Easterbrook, a Republican from Fruitdale, to step down and accusing Republicans of staying silent because the lawmaker belongs to their party. Marques answered within hours, saying Easterbrook “absolutely should resign,” then accused Figures of hypocrisy on a list of national issues. Figures responded by saying Marques spoke up only after being publicly challenged.

Easterbrook is charged with attempted first-degree human trafficking and soliciting prostitution. The charges are allegations only. He has not been convicted of any crime and is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

Figures calls for resignation, challenges Republicans

In his Friday post, Figures said that unless Easterbrook’s defense is that he was not the person involved, he should leave office immediately.

“Unless this guy’s defense is that it literally wasn’t him, he should resign immediately,” Figures wrote. “Taxpayers shouldn’t be paying your salary if you’re out here trying to sexually abuse kids.”

Figures criticized Republican officials for not calling for Easterbrook’s resignation in the roughly two weeks since his arrest. He tied that silence to a national controversy, the long-running dispute over the release of federal investigative files related to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.

“This ‘I’ll be quiet when he’s one of us’ attitude is truly pathetic,” Figures wrote. “That’s the exact same reason all the Epstein files still haven’t been released.”

He then named his opponent directly. “What do you think Rhett Marques? Wanna debate this?” Figures wrote, adding: “You can hear crickets right now on this, my current opponent included.”

Marques: ‘He absolutely should resign’

Marques, a state lawmaker from Enterprise, responded a short time later, saying he agreed that Easterbrook should leave the Legislature and that he was willing to say so about a fellow Republican.

“He absolutely should resign, and should have already resigned,” Marques said. “There is no place in the Alabama Legislature for conduct so deplorable, and I have no hesitation saying that about a member of my own party.”

Marques then turned the criticism back on Figures, accusing him of failing to distance himself from what Marques described as the left wing of the Democratic Party.

“On the other hand, Shomari won’t call out the antisemitic socialists in his party who want to abolish prisons, defund the police and believe Israel doesn’t have a right to exist,” Marques said.

Marques also criticized Democrats over gender-transition health care for minors and called Figures “a hypocrite and a liar.” He took aim at Figures’ reference to the Epstein files by pointing to Figures’ previous job at the U.S. Department of Justice.

“When he worked for Joe Biden’s DOJ, they didn’t release the Epstein files,” Marques said. “They released violent criminals from prison.”

Before winning his seat in Congress in 2024, Figures served as deputy chief of staff and counselor to Attorney General Merrick Garland during the Biden administration.

Figures fires back, renews debate challenge

Figures replied that Marques’ statement came only after he had been put on the spot.

“Rhett Marques had no intention of calling on his colleague to resign until he saw that I did it,” Figures said.

He also used the moment to press his weeks-long demand for a debate, an invitation Marques has repeatedly declined.

“If he truly believes all this other stuff, we can just debate it in front of everyone,” Figures said. “I’ll even come to Enterprise and give him home field advantage.”

Figures has said he accepted three debate invitations, from the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce, the Christian Coalition of Alabama and a statewide news organization. Marques has said he will not debate, arguing that the candidates’ records already show voters the difference between them and that a debate would only give Figures a bigger platform. Read more about the debate dispute.

The case against Easterbrook

Easterbrook was arrested Oct. 2 during a multi-agency undercover operation in Escambia County that resulted in 17 arrests. Authorities have said the people charged believed they were responding to online advertisements but were communicating with law enforcement officers throughout, and no actual victim was involved. Read our coverage of the sting operation.

Court records allege Easterbrook agreed to pay $500 for sex with an undercover officer posing as an escort younger than 19. Alabama’s human trafficking law defines a minor as anyone under 19, which differs from the state’s age of consent.

He was initially charged with first-degree human trafficking, a Class A felony. Prosecutors later moved to amend that charge to attempted first-degree human trafficking because the case arose from a sting with no actual minor involved. The amended charge is a Class B felony, which in Alabama carries a sentencing range of two to 20 years in prison. Easterbrook also faces a misdemeanor charge of soliciting prostitution. Read our earlier report on the charges.

The case remains at an early stage, and the public officials arrested in the operation are scheduled to appear in Escambia County District Court in November, according to court filings. Under Alabama’s criminal process, felony charges generally go before a grand jury, which decides whether to return an indictment, before any trial.

Two other officials left their posts

Easterbrook is the only one of the three public officials arrested in the operation who remains in office.

• Kory Wesley resigned as president of the Satsuma City Schools Board of Education days after his arrest on an attempted human trafficking charge.
• Timothy Tucker, who was charged with soliciting prostitution, is no longer employed as public works director for the City of Orange Beach, according to the city. He is not accused of seeking contact with someone he believed was a minor.

Both men are also presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

A lawmaker already on his way out

Easterbrook has represented House District 65, which covers Washington County and parts of Clarke and Baldwin counties in southwest Alabama, since 2018, when he defeated incumbent Elaine Beech. He did not seek reelection this year, so his term will end after the Nov. 3 general election regardless of whether he resigns.

Marques and Easterbrook entered the Alabama House together after the 2018 election and have both served in the chamber’s Republican caucus.

Some critics have pointed out on social media that Easterbrook voted during the most recent legislative session for a bill allowing the death penalty for certain child predators. That law would not apply to the charges he now faces.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has called the alleged conduct “reprehensible” and said he expects those charged in the operation to be held accountable, while stressing that no one has been convicted and that the legal process should run its course. Marshall has not called for Easterbrook to resign.

The arrest has also surfaced in other campaigns this fall. Democratic legislative candidates and the Alabama Democratic Party have cited the case while criticizing Republican leaders over their remarks about transgender candidates. Read more about that dispute.

What it means for the 2nd District race

The exchange is the latest in a contest that both parties view as one of the most important House races in the South. The 2nd District was redrawn earlier this year, and the new version, which stretches from Montgomery through the Wiregrass, is considerably more favorable to Republicans than the district that first elected Figures. Mobile County, Figures’ home, is no longer part of it. Read our overview of the race.

Nonpartisan forecasters rate the race as leaning or likely Republican, but Figures holds the advantages of incumbency and a fundraising edge, and Democratic groups have released polling showing a close contest.

The two campaigns have clashed for weeks over taxes, federal spending, tariffs, agriculture policy and debates. Marques has framed the race as “craziness versus common sense” and tied Figures to the national Democratic Party. Figures has accused Marques of raising taxes as a state lawmaker and of avoiding voters by refusing to debate. Friday’s exchange showed how quickly even a point of agreement can become another line of attack in the final weeks of the campaign.

Key dates for voters

• Voter registration deadline: Monday, Oct. 19.
• Mailed absentee ballot applications: Must be received by Oct. 27; in-person applications are due by Oct. 29.
• Election Day: Tuesday, Nov. 3. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Photo ID: Alabama requires an approved photo ID to vote in person or by absentee ballot.

Voters can confirm their registration, district and polling place through the Alabama Secretary of State’s website, AlabamaVotes.gov, or their county board of registrars.