The Christian Coalition of Alabama announced Wednesday that it has appointed Perry Hooper Jr. to its board of directors.
Hooper has been a mainstay of the Alabama Republican Party, serving five terms as a state lawmaker from 1984 to 2003. He is the son of Perry Hooper Sr., the first Republican elected to the Alabama Supreme Court since Reconstruction and who served as its 27th Chief Justice from 1995 to 2001. Hooper served as Chairman of Trump Victory in Alabama. He is president of Hooper and Associates and a partner of Strategic Resource Group. He holds a law degree from Faulkner University and graduated from Auburn University.
“Perry Hooper Jr. has been a steadfast defender of the conservative values that the Christian Coalition of Alabama was built to protect,” said Dr. Randy Brinson, Chairman of the Christian Coalition of Alabama. “His deep roots in Alabama’s Republican Party, his commitment to the America First agenda, and his lifelong dedication to faith and family make him an invaluable addition to our board. We are honored to have him.”
Hooper has also been credibly accused of sexual assault after a hostess at a Montgomery restaurant claimed he groped her in 2022. According to a police report, Hooper approached his alleged victim from behind, grabbed her breasts, began thrusting his pelvis into her and kissing her neck.
A grand jury indicted Hooper on those charges, but the victim asked Hooper to publicly apologize in exchange for not cooperating with the investigation. Hooper made that apology and prosecutors abandoned the case.
“I would like to express my sincerest apologies to (the victim),” Hooper wrote in a statement released by his attorney, Joe Espy. “I was wrong and I take full responsibility for my actions. (The victim) is an exemplary person and my behavior was unacceptable. I hope she will accept this apology for my regrettable conduct.”
Hooper has since reversed that public admission and apology though, filing suit against the City of Montgomery in 2023. He argued video of the incident shows he merely kissed the victim on the cheek.
The victim identified herself to media as Elizabeth Daly and called Hooper’s backtrack on his public statement a betrayal.
“I have been in the long, slow process of healing, which has included extending sincere forgiveness to Mr. Hooper every single day; although it is now clear that my forgiveness and dismissal of charges was based on a false statement from Mr. Hooper,” Daly said in a statement to reporters at the time.
She also claimed Hooper told her “I’ll get away with it because I’m Perry Hooper.”
APR asked Brinson about Hooper’s past allegations of sexual misconduct and how that aligns with the organization’s Christian mission.
“All charges were dropped. There was no conviction, no finding of wrongdoing, and no basis for the allegations to proceed. That is the record,” Brinson said in a statement. “In our great country a man is innocent till proven guilty.
“The Christian Coalition of Alabama is, at its core, an organization built on Biblical principles — and chief among those is the belief in redemption, forgiveness, and the capacity of every person to be restored. Perry Hooper Jr. acknowledged the situation, and the legal process concluded with all charges dropped when his accuser refused to testify. He and his wife Judy are active members of Church of the Highlands, and he has continued a life of public service, integrity, and commitment to the conservative values that define this state.
“We appointed him because of who he is today — a man whose faith is lived out, whose record of service is unquestioned, and whose standing in the Alabama Republican community is well established.”
The Christian Coalition of Alabama describes itself as an advocate for Biblical principles in public policy, a defender of religious liberty, a protector of the family “as God designed it,” and equipper of Christians for civic leadership.
“I am deeply honored to join the Board of Directors of the Christian Coalition of Alabama,” Hooper said. “Dr. Brinson and the entire CCA team have built one of the most effective faith-based advocacy organizations in the country. I look forward to working alongside them to advance Biblical values in Alabama’s public policy and to strengthen the coalition of faith, family, and freedom that makes our state great.”
