Patrick Schmidt watched the attack on the U.S. Capitol unfold on Jan. 6. He was stationed in Washington, D.C. as an intelligence officer with the Navy.
“I think if you weren’t there, it is hard to grasp the magnitude of what happened that day,” he told a group of Allen County Democrats and guests at a meet-and-greet event in Iola on Monday evening.
He described the smell of tear gas and bear spray supporters of then-President Donald Trump used to overwhelm police and government officers in an attempt to prevent the certification of Joe Biden as president.