Stephen Ayres participated in the storming of Congress on January 6, 2020. The Ohio man had come to the capital Washington DC to fight for Donald Trump. On Tuesday afternoon, he was back, as a witness for the congressional committee investigating the storm. – I just held the phone, but I was there. It has changed my life, he said. Ayres was tracked down because of the selfie he took. He says that if he had known what he knows now, he would never have gone to Washington. But that he let himself be seduced. “If Trump had asked us to ‘break off’ earlier, we would not be in this terrible situation now,” said Ayhres. Photo of Stephen Ayres inside Congress during the storm on January 6, 2020. Photo: AP Trump’s Twitter messages presented Stephen Ayres marched with the right-wing groups Proud Boys and Oath Keepers on January 6, on the way from Trump’s election rally to Congress. He says he thought it was a good thing to fight with them. The committee investigating the storm is trying to provide evidence that there are links between former President Donald Trump and the leaders of the two extremist groups that led the attack. They also try to prove that the storming was not a spontaneous act, but an action that was well planned. And that the president himself had created a climate of violence, by deliberately inciting his supporters. During today’s open hearing, which was the seventh in a row, a number of Trump’s Twitter messages were shown. The announcements went out between December 14, 2020, when the states had approved their election results, and January 6, 2021, when Congress was to count the states’ results: December 19: “Great protest in DC on January 6. Come on in, it’s going wild! ” December 27: “See you in Washington DC January 6th. Do not miss it. More information to come. » December 30: «6. January, see you in DC! ” January 1: “The big protest takes place on January 6. Details on where in DC is coming. » and “The rescue is coming January 6” Photo: Donald Trump’s Twitter profile “Trump excited us” – I followed President Trump on all social media. I felt I had to show up in Washington. At the time, I thought the election had been stolen from Trump and was uprooted, like many others, Stepehn Ayres said. – The plan was not really to go to Congress, I had come to attend the protest meeting. But the president upset us, and I got angry. Much of what he said he had said on Twitter, so I – and the others – were probably angry already, said Ayres. Photo: JOSEPH PREZIOSO / AFP Jim Watkins, who runs the website 8un which is linked to the QAnon conspiracy movement, says the same thing in his private testimony before the congressional committee. “When the President of the United States of America announced that he was going to host the protest rally, I bought a ticket and left,” Watkins said. Several did as he did. Asked if he thought Trump himself would march with them, as he had promised, Stepehn Ayres replied: “Yes, I thought so.” Angry at Trump – Did you believe the election was stolen? the members of the committee wanted to know. – Yes, at that time that was the case, said Stepehn Ayres. – Do you still think so? – No. I left social media after January 6 and orientated myself on my own. All the lawsuits about electoral fraud that were rejected by the courts convinced me. – Would it have made any difference if you knew at the time that Donald Trump had been clearly informed that there was no evidence that “the election was stolen”, the main interrogator Jamie Raskin wanted to know. – Yes, then I would not be here, said Stephen Ayres cash. Stephen Ayres, who took part in the storming of Congress on January 6, greets police officer Harry Dunn. Ayres took the round and apologized to all the cops in the hall. Photo: SARAH SILBIGER / Reuters The price for being loyal to the then president has been high. Ayres was fired by his employer when it emerged that he was participating in the attack on the National Assembly. He has had to sell the house, but is happy to have kept the family. – It makes me angry that he continues to repeat the lies about the election. I believed in him, more people still do, Ayres said. – One man is never bigger than his country. – I had blinders, but got them off. More people have to take off their blinders and see what is going on before it is too late. I’m afraid of what the future may bring, Ayres said. Stephen Ayres (left) and former Oath Keepers spokesman Jason Van Tatenhove take the oath before their testimony in the hearing on the storming of Congress. Photo: SHAWN THEW / AFP Dissociates himself from the leader Next to Stephen Ayres sat Jason Van Tatenhove. Van Tatenhove was a spokesman for the group Oath Keepers, but has left the “sworn guards”. He describes the group and founder Stewart Rhodes as “very dangerous”. – On January 6, there were people who believed in armed revolution, Van Tatenhove said and said that many in the community consider a civil war to be inevitable. Oath Keepers consists of many with backgrounds from the military or police. On January 6, many were in place in the capital. Others stood ready as a “rapid reaction force” in neighboring Virginia. There they had also hidden away weapons and ammunition. The night before, January 5, Oath Keepers leader Rhodes and Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio met in a parking garage in the capital. This is Proud Boys and Oath Keepers Proud Boys An extreme right-wing group that was formed in 2016, and has exercised political violence against dissidents. Claims to promote nationalist value conservatism, liberalist individualism and nationalist value conservatism and Western values. Wants liberal gun laws. Members will contribute to law and order in American cities. Only men have access, Proud Boys want society to return to traditional gender role patterns. Proud Boys were lifted into the national spotlight when President Donald Trump during one of the TV debates with Joe Biden in connection with the presidential election in 2020 gave the following message to the group: “Stand Back. And stand by. » It was perceived as a call to stay prepared for the election. In the west coast states of Washington and Oregon, the Proud Boys are collaborating with another extreme right-wing group, the Patriot Prayers. Oath Keepers A strong right-wing organization with contacts to a number of militias across the United States. Two thirds of the members are former or current employees in the military or police, and therefore have good weapons skills and combat training. They claim to fulfill the same oath that the police and military must swear: That they will defend the Constitution against all enemies, at home and abroad. The organization has always been strongly critical of the authorities, and urges its members not to follow orders that they themselves believe are contrary to the Constitution. After Trump was elected president in 2016, the message was turned to support the president and turn to those who want him removed. Observers of extremist organizations in the United States describe the Oath Keepers as “heavily armed extremists with a conspiratorial mindset.” The committee showed surveillance photos from the parking garage and believes this proves that January 6 was a conspiracy. Through video footage, the committee has also shown how key figures in the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers led from the park outside the White House where Donald Trump gave his speech and to Congress. They were also among the first to infiltrate the Congress building. Proud Boys members Zachary Rehl (left) and Ethan Nordean pictured leading the crowd toward Congress. Photo: Carolyn Kaster / AP Members of the Oath Keepers pictured outside the convention building on January 6. Photo: Jim Bourg / Reuters Stewart Rhodes – a military veteran and leader of the Oath Keepers – did not even enter Congress, but telephone transcripts show that he kept in close contact with those inside. He also took part in a “VIP” chat on Signal with, among others, Trump friend Roger Stone, who the congressional committee believes has been central in the planning together with Trump’s personal adviser Rudy Giuliani and the controversial lawyer Sidney Powell. According to former Oath Keepr spokesman, the goal of leader Stuart Rhodes is to lead a paramilitary force in the United States. Van Tatenhove says Rhodes thought he could make it through Trump and what was to happen on January 6. – I’m glad it did not get worse that day, Van Tatenhove said. Like Ayres, he’s worried. – I fear for the next election and election campaign. If the president (Trump editor) continues to encourage civil war among his supporters, what happens if he is re-elected? So people must be held accountable for what has happened, he says.
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