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Champion resident Stephen Ayres, who has pleaded guilty to charges connected to taking part in the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol to protest the 2020 election results, said he was merely following President Donald Trump’s suggestions during a morning rally before the march on the Capitol.
In response to chairman Rep. Benjamin Thompson’s questioning today, Ayres explained he was a supervisor at a NE Ohio cabinet company and was a family, working man who got caught up in the social media rhetoric launched by Trump after his 2020 election defeat.
“My family is my life,” Ayres testified. He claimed he was a “hard-core” follower on social media and he “felt like I needed to be down there” for the Stop the Steal rally headed by Trump the morning of Jan. 6.
Ayres last month pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges and faces sentencing in September in U.S. District of Columbia Court. Federal prosecutors had accused Ayres of saying on social media prior to January 6 that “civil war would ensue” if Trump were denied the presidency.
Today, Ayres faced the House panel for about a half-hour of questions. He appeared with another man who formerly was a leader in the Oath Keepers militia group that also participated in the rally, march and breach of the U.S. Capitol.
In response to a question by U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, Ayres said he believed the 2020 election was stolen at the time of Jan. 6, but “not so much” today.
“I have gotten away from social media. I have deleted all that stuff,” he said.
He said after reading other accounts of the election aftermath, he changed his mind, no longer believing Trump’s comments . He said since being charged, he lost his job and had to sell his house.
“It changed my life, definitely not for the better,” he said.
Ayres, who had his wife by his side as he testified, said he is now angry that Trump is continuing to say that the election was stolen.
“Who knows, we may be down the same path if voters believe that stuff again,” he said.
In response to a question about giving advice to Americans, Ayres said he felt he had “horse blinders” on when following Trump.
“You got to take the blinders off before it is too late,” he said.
Ayres said he was not a member of an organized group like Oath Keepers or Proud Boys.
“I didn’t have a problem marching with them,” he said. “I thought it was a good thing, thinking they were on our team.”