A man who joined the pro-Trump mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol apologized Tuesday to officers who protected the building after telling lawmakers that he regrets being duped by the former president's lies of election fraud.
During a hearing before the U.S. House committee that's investigating the insurrection, Stephen Ayres testified that he felt called by former President Donald Trump to come to Washington.
His message to others: “Take the blinders off, make sure you step back and see what’s gong on before it’s too late.”Ayres, who was not accused of any violence or destruction on Jan. 6, said he worked for a cabinet company in northeast Ohio for 20 years, but lost his job and sold his home after the riot. He was joined by his wife at the hearing.
“He still has to answer for what he did legally. And to his God. So it’s up to him,” the former sergeant said.The Jan. 6 House committee that's investigating the insurrection sought to use Ayres' testimony to show how Trump's Dec. 19, 2020 tweet calling his supporters to Washington mobilized not only violent far-right extremist groups, but average Americans to descend on the nation's capital.
Ayres said he wasn’t planning to storm the Capitol before Trump’s speech “got everybody riled up.” He had believed the president would be joining them at the Capitol.Ayres said he and friends who accompanied him to Washington decided to leave the Capitol when Trump sent a tweet asking rioters to leave. If Trump had done that earlier in the day, “maybe we wouldn't be in this bad of a situation,” Ayres said.“I was hanging on every word he was saying,” he said.
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