Riot Role May Be Winning Ticket
in New GOP on Eve of January 6

Capitol Inside
January 5, 2022

Texas House hopeful Mark Middleton of Era plans to commemorate the first anniversary of the riot at the U.S. Capitol with an appearance on Thursday at a Cooke County Republican Women forum for candidates for the seat that freshman State Rep. David Spiller of Jacksboro is fighting to keep in 2022.

While Republicans Craig Carter of Nocona and Gary Franklin of Lometa are running in House District 68 as well, Middleton can expect to be the number one attraction at the event that's set to take place at First Christian Church in Gainesville exactly one year from the day that he and his wife participated in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6.

The House candidate who's a GOP precinct chair and his wife Jalice Middleton are charged with an assortment of crimes in a nine-count indictment that accuses them of assaulting police officers, obstruction of justice and engaging in violence in a restricted building they entered knowing it would be a crime.

In the GOP that's evolved since the insurrection, Middleton could be the early favorite to win the nomination in the primary election on March 1 if Spiller doesn't force him into a runoff in the spring. Spiller and the others in the race could find their best weapon would be a joint memorandum to potential primary voters that explains how Middleton wouldn't be eligible to serve in an elected office at the state level if he's convicted before or after a potential win in HD 68.

The Middletons are two of 63 people who've been arrested in Texas in the past year for alleged crimes that they committed in Washington D.C. on the darkest day for American democracy since the Civil War. Based on NPR data on 729 people who've been charged with criminal offenses for parts in the storming of the Capitol, Texas ranks third behind Florida and Pennsylvania in the number of riot-related arrests so far in the largest investigation in history.

The Department of Justice included a Facebook video that Middleton posted in the mountain of evidence in the supporting documents in the couple's case.

“We are on the front lines. We helped push down the barriers. Jalise and I got pepper sprayed, clubbed, and tear gassed. We had to retreat, but more patriots pushed forward, and they’re taking back our house. They’ve got the giant flag up on the upper terrace up there. No more fooling around! Jalise and I gotta go back to the hotel and try to recoup and change, get dry clothes on. Make America great again! Freedom!”

Like the lion's share of rioters last January 6, the Middletons appeared to believe Donald Trump's lies about the election being stolen from him in an elaborate conspiracy by Biden and the Democrats. Both the candidate and his spouse have entered not guilty pleas to the litany of charges that could put them behind bars from years to come if convicted. Some rioters like the Middletons who've been accused of attacking police officers have received sentences in the range of five years or more while others like Denton real estate professional Jennifer Leigh Ryan have gotten off with slaps on the wrist in comparison.

Ryan was indicted along with Jason Lee Hyland and fellow Dallas-area realtor Katherine "Katie" Schwab for their roles in the riot that they joined after flying together with two others in a private plane from Texas. While Hyland and Schwab also have pleaded not guilty, Ryan landed 60 days in a federal prison camp in Bryan where she began doing her time late last month.

Ryan had predicted that she wouldn't be incarcerated for the events of January 6 because she's a white woman with blonde hair and a great job. Ryan has compared her voyage through the justice system to the treatment that the Jews received in Nazi Germany. Ryan, who's 51, complained that she's been referred to as an insurrection Barbie.

The Middletons have pleaded not guilty to the accusations that were detailed in a document that the U.S. Department of Justice compiled on their case. Middleton the HD 68 competitor is taking his case to the people first himself with plans to share tales from his wild experience in Washington D.C. a year ago with the CCRW in Gainesville before a five-city tour sponsored by the True Texas Project with stops set for Stephenville, Amarillo, Dallas, the Rio Grande Valley and Ellis County. The TTP is headed by North Texas tea party trailblazer Julie McCarty as the CEO with Fran Rhodes as president.

Middleton is clearly Spiller's worst nightmare as a rising star in Trump's radicalized GOP. While Middleton might find fundraising tough due to the uncertainty surrounding his criminal status, the publicity that he's received for the riot could be grassroots gold in a race against an old-school conservative like Spiller.

Middleton isn't the only candidate who's trying to capitalize on the attention he reaped for his part in the Trump mob attack on the citadel of American democracy while a joint session of Congress was in the process of certifying the 2020 election results.

Republican Annie Black - a Nevada state assembly member who was at the riot as well - announced on Tuesday that she'd decided to seek a promotion with a bid for a U.S. House seat that an incumbent Black Democrat is seeking again this year.