A New Hampshire man who was charged in connection with the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, after he admitted he “chugged” wine he found in one of the offices during the riot, now says he’s running for Congress.
Jason Riddle told NBC Boston on Sunday that he is still working on the details on his campaign, but plans to run to represent New Hampshire’s second district in 2022. Democrat Annie Kuster is in her fifth term as a U.S. congresswoman representing that district.
Riddle said in an interview with NBC Boston in the days following the attack on the Capitol that he only went to Washington, D.C., in January for a rally to support Donald Trump and “was in shock” after a group broke into the Capitol.
But he said he did follow the mob inside. “I had to see it,” he said, adding that he found a bottle of wine in an office, poured himself a glass and “chugged it and then got out of there.” The wine was later determined to be in the Office of the Senate Parliamentarian.
Riddle also admitted to the FBI that he took a book, “Senate Procedure,” which he sold to someone outside for $40.
A criminal complaint charges Riddle with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; theft of government property; and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
But Riddle said he thinks the charges and involvement with the riot will help his campaign.
“In the long run, if you’re running for office, any attention is good attention, so I think it will help me,” Riddle said.
“It tells them I show up,” Riddle said about his role in the riots. “I’m going to actually keep my promises and make some changes.”
Riddleis still ironing out the details of his platform, but said, “I guess, ‘Let’s get back to work,’ that’s going to be the slogan I go with.”
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
