Stephen Michael Ayres said he felt like he needed to be there when he and others attacked the U.S. Capitol.
The 39-year-old resident of Trumbull County, in northeast Ohio, said that he was "hardcore into the social media" and that he got caught up in the lie that the 2020 election was stolen.
Ayres was prepared when Trump urged his followers on social media to attend the "Stop the Steal Rally" in Washington.
Ayres said that she was hanging on every word he said.
During the riots, he entered the U.S. Capitol. He was held up as an example of an average working American who believed the lie that Trump had won the election and that the outcome was rigged.
Ayres was a supervisor at the cabinet company where he had worked for nearly two decades and he testified that he was a family man and a working man.
Ayres said that family was his life. He said that he liked playing games with his son.
On Tuesday, witnesses said, Trump fought objections during a heated dispute with his White House lawyers over a plan to seize voting machines in a last-ditch attempt to save his presidency.
Eric Herschmann testified that he thought the proposal was crazy.
The vice-chair of the committee said that Trump tried to contact a person who was talking to the committee.
The next hearing will take place at 8 pm. The 21st of July. Bennie Thompson, the committee chairman, said the last hearing would be at night on June 9.
The panel will give a minute-by-minute account of what happened.
Donald Trump didn't call his administration to help that day. "This is clear and unambiguous." Cheney said. The military was not called by him. The secretary of defense was not ordered. He didn't call the Attorney General. He didn't talk to the department.
Ayres told the committee on Tuesday that he had friends who were going to the rally in Washington and that he joined them at the last moment.
According to court records, Ayres warned on social media that there would be a civil war if Trump was removed as president.
Ayres encouraged his followers to come to the rally on his Facebook page. Ayres called on people to be part of history.
When your grandson asks, "Where were you when the rally happened?", what's your answer going to be?
Congress would be voting on the Electoral College results on January 6th. It's time to be there. Will be crazy.
Ayres said that he and his friends were going to attend the rally. He said that they went to the Capitol because the president told everyone to head there.
According to Ayres, he and other people believed that Trump would go to the Capitol with them.
During his testimony, Ayres was asked if he thought marching to the Capitol would overturn the election.
Ayres said he was angry at that time. He testified that his main hope was that the election wouldn't be certified by the vice president.
Ayres was asked if the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys were on his side and if he had any reservations about marching on the Capitol with them.
Ayres said he was probably following them on the internet. They're on our team, that's what I felt. I didn't think it was bad.
According to court records and photos, Ayres entered the Capitol through a door on the Senate wing with a backpack and face mask.
He and his friends left after Trump told his followers to leave the Capitol.
The committee inquired about what had happened to Ayres.
It was a member of Ayres' family who turned him in to federal investigators.
Ayres said that he lost his job. I sold my house because of this. A lot of the charges got dismissed.
It changed my life for the worse. It's definitely not for the best.
Ayres said that he doesn't think the election was stolen from Trump. It's too big for something like that to be kept quiet. With all the lawsuits being shot down, that's what convinced me.
Ayres was asked how he felt about Trump spreading the lie that the election was stolen even though there is no proof.
Ayres testified that it made him angry. I was following everything he was saying. Hundreds of thousands or millions of other people were doing the same thing. Maybe it's still happening.
Who knows what the next election will bring? We are currently going down the same path. You do not know.
Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat who is a member of the Select Committee, asked Ayres what lessons he wanted the Americans to learn from him.
"The biggest thing for me is to take the blinders off and make sure you step back and see what's going on, before it's too late."
More than 35 Ohioans, including Ayres, have been charged in connection with the attack, though more than 300 other suspects captured in photos and videos entering the Capitol that day remain unknown.
Ayres apologized to the two law enforcement officers who helped defend the Capitol after he testified.
He asked Ayres if he was sorry for his involvement in the riot, and he said yes.
I said I hoped so. I have to think that people can change.
The Associated Press contributed to the report.
jwilhelm is a reporter for The Dispatch.
Stephen Ayres sold his home after losing his job.
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