Simmons

LA GRANDE — Mark Simmons wants to set the record straight. Yes, the rumors are true, the Elgin man said, that he was in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, the day the U.S. Capitol was attacked by protesters. But he said he didn’t participate in the insurrection. He said he never got closer than 100 yards to the Capitol, and that he wanted nothing to do with the event. Simmons, who is seeking a seat on the Union County Board of Commissioners in the May 21 primary election, said he and his family were among the crowd at the Ellipse, a 52-acre park between the White House and the Washington Monument, who heard President Donald Trump and others start speaking around noon. It was a peaceful setting, filled with people of all ages from many walks of life, Simmons said. “It was common folk, a cross section. We were like a good old American family,” said Simmons, who served in the state House of Representatives from 1997-2002 and was its speaker from 2000-2002. The midday setting at the Ellipse was calm, Simmons said. However, there was a hint that something was up. “While we stood around waiting for the speeches to start, a man walked near us through the crowd saying, ‘We are going to storm the Capitol.’ He seemed to be looking for recruits, but that was not something we wanted to be part of,” he said. Simmons said he was at the Ellipse to show his support for Trump, whose policies he credits with keeping fuel and food prices down and the United States out of additional wars. Trump’s talk went on until about 1 p.m., and Simmons said he does not recall the president saying anything that Simmons believed incited violence. “I do remember him saying we should march to the Capitol Building peacefully,” Simmons said. During his speech, Trump outlined a long list of grievances against the news media and against Republicans he deemed were insufficiently supportive, as well as a litany of false claims about how the election had been stolen from him. Trump faces four Jan. 6-related charges, according to The Washington Post, including conspiring to obstruct the congressional confirmation of President Joe Biden’s victory on Jan. 6. Included as evidence is that Trump in his speech “directed the crowd in front of him to go to the Capitol as a means to obstruct the certification and pressure the Vice President (Mike Pence) to fraudulently obstruct the certification.” Trump is also charged with a substantive obstruction count for attempting to block Congress from confirming Biden’s victory on Jan. 6. The same charge is the most common felony charge used against rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol. Simmons, who was with his wife, their youngest daughter and their 17-year-old grandson, said that after getting something to eat, they started walking back to their hotel. The family walked within 100 yards of the Capitol but moved no closer when they saw the uprising happening. “There was a lot of rowdiness going on,” he said. “It was not something we wanted to get involved in.” Still, he said, the situation at the Capitol Building did not seem to him overly dramatic. “We did not see any real violence there, little worth arresting anyone for,” Simmons said. When he and his family returned to their hotel, Simmons was amazed when he saw the news reports of the insurrection on television. He said that it seemed that things were greatly exaggerated. “We had not seen anything like that,” he said. ”What I saw was an overreaction by a media which was hyperventilating.” The Washington Post reported March 14 that nearly 1,300 people have now been arrested on Jan. 6 charges, with the FBI continuing to pick up defendants three years after the riot. Still, Simmons sensed that the incident would be ingrained forever in the fabric of the nation’s story. “I told my grandson he had witnessed a historical American moment that would be talked about for many years,” he said. Simmons maintains strong feelings about the events of that day. “I do think it was all a set up, highly choreographed political drama or theater to create a story,” he said. He believes the insurrection could have been prevented had Nancy Pelosi, then the speaker of the House, accepted Trump’s reported offer of 10,000 National Guardsmen to protect the Capitol Building on Jan. 6. A number of news organizations refute the claim that Trump offered 10,000 National Guardsmen to Pelosi, but Simmons believes it is true, citing sworn statements by officials supporting this theory. Simmons realizes that there are many differing views on what happened on Jan. 6, but this does not bother him. “That is fine,” he said. “Everyone has a right to their opinion.”

LA GRANDE — Mark Simmons wants to set the record straight.

Yes, the rumors are true, the Elgin man said, that he was in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, the day the U.S. Capitol was attacked by protesters.

But he said he didn’t participate in the insurrection. He said he never got closer than 100 yards to the Capitol, and that he wanted nothing to do with the event.

Simmons, who is seeking a seat on the Union County Board of Commissioners in the May 21 primary election, said he and his family were among the crowd at the Ellipse, a 52-acre park between the White House and the Washington Monument, who heard President Donald Trump and others start speaking around noon.

It was a peaceful setting, filled with people of all ages from many walks of life, Simmons said.

“It was common folk, a cross section. We were like a good old American family,” said Simmons, who served in the state House of Representatives from 1997-2002 and was its speaker from 2000-2002.

The midday setting at the Ellipse was calm, Simmons said. However, there was a hint that something was up.

“While we stood around waiting for the speeches to start, a man walked near us through the crowd saying, ‘We are going to storm the Capitol.’ He seemed to be looking for recruits, but that was not something we wanted to be part of,” he said.

Simmons said he was at the Ellipse to show his support for Trump, whose policies he credits with keeping fuel and food prices down and the United States out of additional wars.

Trump’s talk went on until about 1 p.m., and Simmons said he does not recall the president saying anything that Simmons believed incited violence.

“I do remember him saying we should march to the Capitol Building peacefully,” Simmons said.

During his speech, Trump outlined a long list of grievances against the news media and against Republicans he deemed were insufficiently supportive, as well as a litany of false claims about how the election had been stolen from him.

Trump faces four Jan. 6-related charges, according to The Washington Post, including conspiring to obstruct the congressional confirmation of President Joe Biden’s victory on Jan. 6. Included as evidence is that Trump in his speech “directed the crowd in front of him to go to the Capitol as a means to obstruct the certification and pressure the Vice President (Mike Pence) to fraudulently obstruct the certification.”

Trump is also charged with a substantive obstruction count for attempting to block Congress from confirming Biden’s victory on Jan. 6. The same charge is the most common felony charge used against rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol.

Simmons, who was with his wife, their youngest daughter and their 17-year-old grandson, said that after getting something to eat, they started walking back to their hotel. The family walked within 100 yards of the Capitol but moved no closer when they saw the uprising happening.

“There was a lot of rowdiness going on,” he said. “It was not something we wanted to get involved in.”

Still, he said, the situation at the Capitol Building did not seem to him overly dramatic.

“We did not see any real violence there, little worth arresting anyone for,” Simmons said.

When he and his family returned to their hotel, Simmons was amazed when he saw the news reports of the insurrection on television. He said that it seemed that things were greatly exaggerated.

“We had not seen anything like that,” he said. ”What I saw was an overreaction by a media which was hyperventilating.”

The Washington Post reported March 14 that nearly 1,300 people have now been arrested on Jan. 6 charges, with the FBI continuing to pick up defendants three years after the riot.

Still, Simmons sensed that the incident would be ingrained forever in the fabric of the nation’s story.

“I told my grandson he had witnessed a historical American moment that would be talked about for many years,” he said.

Simmons maintains strong feelings about the events of that day.

“I do think it was all a set up, highly choreographed political drama or theater to create a story,” he said.

He believes the insurrection could have been prevented had Nancy Pelosi, then the speaker of the House, accepted Trump’s reported offer of 10,000 National Guardsmen to protect the Capitol Building on Jan. 6.

A number of news organizations refute the claim that Trump offered 10,000 National Guardsmen to Pelosi, but Simmons believes it is true, citing sworn statements by officials supporting this theory. Simmons realizes that there are many differing views on what happened on Jan. 6, but this does not bother him.

“That is fine,” he said. “Everyone has a right to their opinion.”