Brakkton Booker
Brakkton Booker is a National Desk reporter based in Washington, DC.
He covers a wide range of topics including issues related to federal social safety net programs and news around the mid-Atlantic region of the United States.
His reporting takes him across the country covering natural disasters, like hurricanes and flooding, as well as tracking trends in regional politics and in state governments, particularly on issues of race.
Following the 2018 mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, Booker's reporting broadened to include a focus on young activists pushing for changes to federal and state gun laws, including the March For Our Lives rally and national school walkouts.
Prior to joining NPR's national desk, Booker spent five years as a producer/reporter for NPR's political unit. He spent most to the 2016 presidential campaign cycle covering the contest for the GOP nomination and was the lead producer from the Trump campaign headquarters on election night. Booker served in a similar capacity from the Louisville campaign headquarters of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in 2014. During the 2012 presidential campaign, he produced pieces and filed dispatches from the Republican and Democratic National conventions, as well as from President Obama's reelection site in Chicago.
In the summer of 2014, Booker took a break from politics to report on the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri.
Booker started his career as a show producer working on nearly all of NPR's magazine programs, including Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and former news and talk show Tell Me More, where he produced the program's signature Barbershop segment.
He earned a bachelor's degree from Howard University and was a 2015 Kiplinger Fellow. When he's not on the road, Booker enjoys discovering new brands of whiskey and working on his golf game.
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Illinois State Police are investigating the police shooting of Marcellis Stinnette in Waukegan, Ill., north of Chicago. At a rally Thursday, protesters say they want police accountability. -
The prosecution had sought a 48-hour seal on court filings, which include a submission from the defense of footage of the 2019 encounter, in hopes of discussing what information to release. -
Tamika Palmer says she wants the officers who killed her daughter to be charged. "Even in the very beginning of this year, she kept saying 2020 was her year," she said. "And she was absolutely right." -
The shootings of the three protesters appeared to change the tenor of demonstrations on Wednesday night. The protests had turned violent a night earlier when two people were killed. -
Attorney Benjamin Crump tweets the news of Jacob Blake's condition Tuesday — and adds he is praying it is not permanent. Blake was shot in the back by police in Wisconsin on Sunday. -
After Austin cut millions from its police department, Gov. Greg Abbott is pushing to make cities pay a price for tightening law enforcement budgets. -
Attorneys for Mark and Patricia McCloskey say they'll speak at next week's nominating convention for President Trump. They both face a felony charge for waving guns at protesters in June. -
North Paulding High School made headlines when images of crowded halls were posted on social media. The school is switching to virtual learning for at least two days while facilities are disinfected. -
McAtee is remembered as a family man and the owner of Yaya's BBQ. He was shot and killed at his business Monday when police and National Guard were dispersing a crowd after curfew. -
Jones also will be the first woman to serve as mayor of the city. Ferguson gained international attention in 2014 after the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown and the protests that followed.
