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Lebanon man arrested in Capitol unrest to remain in jail pending bail hearing

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The Lebanon home of Kyle Fitzsimons on Friday (The Rochester Voice photo); inset, a photo of him at the Capitol unrest. (Courtesy photo/FBI)

LEBANON, Maine - A Lebanon man arrested on Thursday in last month's Capitol unrest will remain in jail pending a bail hearing next Thursday.

Ryan Fitzsimons, 37, dressed in orange jail garb and viewing the proceedings of his initial court appearance remotely from the Cumberland County Jail, made no plea during the hearing on Friday.

During a series of routine questions a clearly anxious Fitzsimons said at one point, "I put myself at the mercy of the court."

Fitzsimons, a husband and father of a year-old daughter, faces more than 13 years in federal prison if convicted on all charges, which include assault on a federal law enforcement officer, obstruction of enforcement and trespassing on federal property, namely the U.S. Capitol.

Meanwhile, neighbors of Fitzsimons said the family was a pleasure to live near to.

"They are very nice people," said Linda Kendall, whose family lives across the street.

Kendall said the mother works as a teacher, and the couple are parents of a year-old daughter.

"She's (the mom) going to need some help," she said fretfully.

Fitzsimons told The Rochester Voice in a Jan. 11 article that he went to the Capitol not to riot, but to protest voter fraud and support President Trump in efforts to decertify what was seen by many as an election fraught with statistical anomalies, compromised voting machines and even video evidence that showed ballot counting irregularities such as at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Ga.

Fitzsimons said he was unwillingly swept up in a "horde of humanity" outside the Capitol that swept him toward a police line where he was struck on the head.

He said after he was struck he was helped by Good Samaritans who helped him get to a D.C. hospital where he received six stitches for a gash on the crown of his head.

Fitzsimons is the first Maine resident to be charged in the so-called Capitol riots. Officials say he was taken into custody without incident, but released no other details about his arrest.

Kendall said she likely witnessed his Thursday arrest from across the street.

"There were like five SUVs parked over there," she said. "No police lights or lettering. I thought someone had died."

According to an affidavit filed in federal court, Fitzsimons twice charged at a line of Metropolitan Police Department officers who managed to fight him off. One struck Fitzsimons on the head with a baton, according to the FBI's affidavit, which said he charged at a line of officers.

Fitzsimons, who worked as a butcher prior to his arrest, is well known in Lebanon as a second-amendment activist. He also served as a member on the town's Cannabis Committee, whose function it was to form rules, regulations and fees on businesses related to medical and recreational sales within the town.

According to a Friday Mainernews.com story Fitzsimons demonstrated racist views when he argued against a 2018 bill to fund a job-training and education center in Lewiston for the city's large immigrant population, most of whom arrived in Maine from African countries.

The paper, an alt-left Phoenix-like iteration, reported:

"We are being replaced," Fitzsimons told lawmakers during a three-minute tirade ... "and ignoring an opioid crisis that's "killing us all, killing off Yankee New England culture."

"You're doing nothing about it," Fitzsimons continued, referring to the drug crisis. "You're bringing in the new Third World, you're bringing in the replacements. I see what's going on. It's black and white, absolutely black and white. So I'm here to tell you right now -- you're being put on notice."

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