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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Tulsa officials said at least 12 coffins were discovered over four days of digging in the city-owned Oaklawn Cemetery. More tests need to be conducted to determine if remains are massacre victims. -
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was captured on cellphone video kneeling on Floyd's neck for several minutes, still faces a higher charge of second-degree murder. -
Taylor's killing, along with that of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, sparked national protests calling for an end to systemic racism and police brutality. Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly denied he is racist. -
Brett Hankison, who was terminated in June, has been charged with three counts of wanton endangerment. None of the three men faces state charges directly over Taylor's death. -
There's only been one other year — 2005 — that Greek names have been needed. The National Hurricane Center on Friday announced storms called Alpha and Beta have formed in the Atlantic. -
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." -
A video that appears to show police shooting a man several times at close range has been met with outrage. Gov. Tony Evers on Monday has deployed the state's National Guard. -
Eurie Stamps was killed during a drug raid at his home. Police were reportedly looking for his stepson and another man. Prosecutors said the shooting was accidental and the officer wasn't charged. -
The Full Housestar will serve two months, and her fashion designer husband will serve five months. They pleaded guilty in May to fraud charges related to securing their daughters' admission to USC. -
After Austin cut millions from its police department, Gov. Greg Abbott is pushing to make cities pay a price for tightening law enforcement budgets. -
The council's Republican Caucus is calling for Democratic Mayor Greg Fischer to step down. The caucus cites Fischer's handling of probes into the Breonna Taylor and David McAtee deaths as reasons. -
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.
