Saying he regrets the trauma and pain caused Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol and his role in the violence, pardoned rioter Ryan Nichols announced Wednesday that he will challenge Congressman Nathaniel Moran in next year’s Republican primary.

“I am not here for myself,” Nichols said during a news conference in downtown Longview. “I am here to serve you selflessly courageous and with the same grit that defines this same region.”

Joined by family members, Nichols, 34, spoke to reporters for more than 20 minutes and outlined his priorities for serving East Texans. Above all, he said he wants people to know: There’s more to him than what happened Jan. 6, and he’s here to serve all East Texans.

“For over four years, I’ve been waiting to get out there and share my side of the story and also share who I am. I’m a father, I’m a husband, I’m a search and rescue specialist, I’m a business owner, I’m a patriotic American, and I just want to help people here in America,” he said.

Nichols said he is a strong supporter of agriculture and wants to secure the southern border, ensure veterans receive proper care and increase healthcare in rural areas. He also said he stands with the oil and gas industry and supports manufacturing. 

“I will fight to bring companies like US Steel to places like Lone Star,” he said.

Of particular note to East Texans is that Nichols is strongly opposed to the possible sale of Lake O’ the Pines water to the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He said he would do everything he could to stop it and said Moran hasn’t done enough.

He said he isn’t here to “bash” Moran but believes there’s a better way to represent East Texas.

“I’m here to serve, I’m here to protect, I’m here to help, I want to know the issues in East Texas, and I plan on voting with the will of the people,” he said. “What the will of the people here in District 1 in Texas want is what’s going to be voted on in Washington, D.C., and you can hold me to that.”

Nichols was sentenced to prison for his role in the Jan. 6 riot and was pardoned by President Donald Trump in January.

Nichols, a former Marine, and fellow former Marine Alex Kirk Harkrider of Carthage traveled from Longview to Washington, D.C., to take part in the riot because they believed the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent, according to court records.

At the Capitol, Nichols carried a crowbar and led a crowd of people that pushed police officers, and he used pepper spray against police, court records show. Numerous photos and videos show his actions at the Capitol.

Nichols entered the Capitol through a broken window, stood on a window ledge and used a bullhorn to tell a crowd of people: “‘Get in the building, this is your country, get in the building … This is the second revolution,’ ‘This is not a peaceful protest’ and ‘If you have a weapon, you need to get your weapon!’” In one video, he called for politicians to be drug through the streets of Washington, D.C.

That night, in a video from a D.C. hotel room, he said he “stands for violence,” but on Wednesday, Nichols gave a different message, saying he regrets the “trauma that was passed down from myself and others onto other people.”

“I regret not going a different route, maybe using my words and not using my actions,” he said. “Violence has no place in the political spectrum. We have to use peace. We have to be peaceful. We have to go rewrite the laws. We have to use our voice and stand in front of the podiums and go vote in the box.”

FBI agents arrested Nichols on Jan. 18 in Longview. In November 2023, he pleaded guilty to two felonies: obstruction of an official proceeding and assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers. In May 2024, he was sentenced to 63 months prison followed by two years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a $200,000 fine.

Nichols has post-traumatic stress disorder, and his attorneys said his actions at the Capitol were a “PTSD-related aberration in his law-abiding life.” They noted his military service and his charitable efforts. In 2018, Nichols garnered nationwide media attention for rescuing six dogs rising floodwaters during Hurricane Florence in North Carolina. He later appeared on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

Nichols was among the roughly 1,500 Capitol riot participants whom Trump pardoned shortly after taking office in January, calling them “hostages” and political prisoners.

But Nichols said he’s more than the man in the headlines: He said he’s a man who loves his family, served his country and admits that he’s a normal human being who makes mistakes. 

Wednesday’s news conference began with a prayer by his father, a preacher, for God’s hand to guide the campaign, protect Nichols and his family and for God’s will to be done. 

Nichols isn’t the first Jan. 6 defendant to mount a congressional bid. Wisconsin Republican Derrick Van Orden and New York Republican George Santos both took part in Jan. 6 events in Washington and won seats in the U.S. House. Santos was removed from the House in 2023, however, amid an ethics scandal, and he pleaded guilty to fraud and identity theft charges in August.

In 2024, Nichols wrote about how he would live his post-prison life, and the plan was posted on the Prison Professors Talent website. He said the past few years have been difficult for him, and upon his release from prison, he wanted to rebuild his relationships with his wife and children.

“I will be taking my family fishing, out to eat, camping, to and from school, to sports practices and games, swimming with them in our new pool in our backyard, playing video games with my sons, going to church together at Mobberly Baptist Church where we have been members for years, going on dates with my wife weekly, riding around our neighborhood in the side by side my wife purchased, and much more,” Nichols wrote. “There is no making up for the time I lost with my family, but I can make sure to be a present father and husband for now on. That is my intention.”

He also said he wants to start a nonprofit organization called “Convicted Veterans” to help incarcerated veterans grow “physically, mentally and spiritually while locked up and upon release.”

“I understand the struggles veterans face, from the scars of battle to the challenges of transitioning back to civilian life, and I will fight to fix these issues for all veterans, ensuring they get the care, support and respect they deserve,” he said Wednesday.

He said he hopes that people who might have preconceived ideas about who he is will give him a chance.