A Republican candidate in Missouri is admitting to his role in the Capitol insurrection, but says he's not worried about getting arrested.
Preston V. Smith, who's running for Jackson County executive, says he came within 10 feet of the doors leading to the Senate chamber on Jan. 6.
"But Smith denies that he went inside the building that day, clarifying one of his online posts that gave some the impression that he had entered the Capitol along with hundreds of other supporters of former President Donald Trump," the Kansas City Star reported Wednesday.
Three days after the insurrection, Smith wrote in the comments section of a local podcast's website: “I was within 10 feet of the Senate floor door. It was open and Capitol police were selectively pepper-spraying people who went in. Some got in, and some didn’t. So they wanted some people to get into the building. I didn’t try to get in because I didn’t know what I’d do once I got there. There is no doubt in my mind that our president asked me to come to DC on the 6th for this military operation.”
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Smith's post led some people to believe that he had entered the Capitol, and was referring to the Senate doors inside the building.
"But Smith said Tuesday that the Senate floor door he was referring to is less familiar to the public, on the outside of the building, at ground level, two levels below the Senate floor," the Star reported.
“I did not go inside,” Smith said.
Regardless, Smith breached the barricades that had been set up to keep people away from the Capitol, and it is illegal to trespass on government property when access is restricted. But he claims he was within his constitutional rights.
“As far as I was concerned, I was there to peacefully protest and assemble," he said. "When I got there, there were no barricades. There were a handful of police officers that were there from the Capitol Police, but the doors were wide open. In fact, all the doors on the east side of the Capitol were.”
Smith will face an uphill climb in his bid to unseat incumbent Democrat Frank White, a well-known former baseball player for the Kansas City Royals. No Republican has won a countywide race in a century, the Star reported.
Asked about his potential opponent in the GOP primary, Smith indicated that he has no regrets about his role in the insurrection.
“I would ask Theresa Galvin why were you not there on Jan. 6,” Smith said. “I didn’t see her.”
