FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 file photo, Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier at the Capitol in Washington. Right-wing extremism has previously mostly played out in isolated pockets of America or in smaller cities. In contrast, the deadly attack by rioters on the U.S. Capitol targeted the very heart of government. It brought together members of disparate groups, creating the opportunity for extremists to establish links with each other. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

A Champion man charged in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol made an appearance Monday in a Washington, D.C., federal court.

Stephen M. Ayres, 38, of Carolewood Circle NW, was scheduled for a preliminary hearing at 1 p.m. before Magistrate Judge Robin M. Merriweather.

Neither prosecutors nor court officials would answer emails Monday afternoon about the hearing outcome. And, Ayres attorney Eugene Olm refused to answer a reporter’s questions, saying he “was not authorized to speak to the media.”

Cleveland attorney Russell Bensing, who represented Ayres in his first appearance last month in a Cleveland courtroom, confirmed Ayres’ appearance in D.C. on Monday.

“The proceeding probably including the reading of a lengthy affidavit in the case,” said Bensing, noting that his former client has not been incarcerated.

Ayres is charged with obstruction of justice / Congress, unlawful entry into restricted buildings or grounds and violent entry or disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

Bensing said the obstruction charge is the most serious a felony, while the others are misdemeanors.

THE AFFIDAVIT

According to the affidavit prepared by Austin Price, special agent with the FBI, evidence was provided in support of the charges against Ayres for his actions on Jan. 6, the day the joint session of Congress was interrupted during the Electoral College vote count when protesters stormed the U.S. Capitol.

The affidavit stated that multiple tips showed that Ayres was “one of the many who had unlawfully entered the Capitol on that day, and he had posted a video talking about it on social media later that day.”

On Jan. 10, the FBI reviewed the almost 8-minute-long video that depicted three individuals, including Ayres, describing their experiences inside the Capitol. The same video was posted to YouTube on Jan. 7 by an account “Johnny Anonymous” and was labeled “It was all ANTIFA breaking into the Capitol 1-6-2021.”

The other man in the video stated it was being made “back at the hotel,” the affidavit states, where they were “safe,” but they had been “all at the Capitol building” and they wanted to “share what really happened today.” He said he and Ayers “walked right into the Capitol building” after Antifa “breached the door” so it was left open. The man also stated the police “escorted” them from one end of the building to the other, according to the video.

The FBI interviewed a witness Jan. 16 who had told them about Ayres’ presence at the Capitol on Jan. 6. That witness was one of Ayres’ family members, according to the affidavit. The witness had told the FBI he had watched Ayres’ streaming live video on Jan. 6, and in it, the witness said Ayres was acting “like he was at war” and there was a lot of “yelling and screaming going on.”

At one point during the livestreamed video, the witness stated that Ayres said the Jan. 6 incident was “just the beginning.”

gvogrin@tribtoday.com