Missouri candidate describes Jan. 6 as ‘military operation,’ says he didn’t enter Capitol
A Republican who recently announced his candidacy to unseat Jackson County Executive Frank White told The Star that he was part of the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol last Jan. 6.
Preston V. Smith of Blue Springs said he breached the police perimeter around the building and came within 10 feet of the doors leading to the Senate. But Smith denies that he went inside the building that day, clarifying one of his online posts that gave some the impression that he had entered the Capitol along with hundreds of other supporters of former President Donald Trump.
He described his activities that day in the comments section on a podcast on X22reports.com that aired three days after Trump supporters attempted to disrupt Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s election as president.
“I was within 10 feet of the Senate floor door,” Smith wrote on the website. “It was open and Capitol police were selectively pepper-spraying people who went in. Some got in, and some didn’t. So they wanted some people to get into the building. I didn’t try to get in because I didn’t know what I’d do once I got there. There is no doubt in my mind that our president asked me to come to DC on the 6th for this military operation.”
That he was 10 feet from the door to the Senate floor caused some to believe he was referring to the doors that permit entry to the Senate chamber inside the building. For him to have been 10 feet away from the doors, he would have had to have accessed via the rotunda.
But Smith said Tuesday that the Senate floor door he was referring to is less familiar to the public, on the outside of the building, at ground level, two levels below the Senate floor.
“I did not go inside,” he said.
But Smith does acknowledge that he made the 17-hour drive to Washington ahead of Jan 6, 2021, and was there that day on the Capitol grounds, inside the barricades police had set up to keep people away from the building. Demonstrators cast them aside and overwhelmed the police behind them.
Smith followed.
It is illegal to trespass on government property when access is restricted. However, Smith said he does not fear being added to the list of the more than 725 protesters as of this Jan. 6 who had been charged with crimes in connection with the attempted insurrection. Attorney General Merrick Garland said on the first anniversary of the attack that the Justice Department is not through making arrests. Most of those charged so far were arrested for being inside the building, destroying property or committing acts of violence.
Smith said he did none of that.
“As far as I was concerned, I was there to peacefully protest and assemble. So I was clearly within my constitutional rights,” he said. “When I got there, there were no barricades. There were a handful of police officers that were there from the Capitol Police, but the doors were wide open. In fact, all the doors on the east side of the Capitol were.”
Smith said he was familiar with where those doors led from when he worked as a news reporter in Washington, D.C., 30 years ago.
His LinkedIn profile said he owned Agrisight New Service, which was based in Washington, D.C., from the fall of 1987 to the spring of 1990.
He now owns Business Information Services LLC., which uses data to help public school districts across the country with long range planning and is the Blue Springs school district’s representative on the Jackson County board of equalization.
That board hears taxpayers’ appeals of how their properties are valued for tax purposes. Smith’s expertise in that area made him a local celebrity in 2019, when he took a public stand challenging the accuracy of the county’s reassessment process. He was often on TV news.
The assessment process, which he calls flawed, is one of the key issues he cites for deciding to run for county executive, a job White has held since being appointed in January 2016 to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Mike Sanders. White went on to win election that fall to complete the two years left in Sanders’ term. He was re-elected in 2018.
A Democrat, White plans to file for re-election when candidate filings open at the end of this month. He could face opposition in the Aug. 2 party primary. Kansas City attorney Stacy Lake is officially in the race, having formed a campaign committee last fall and given notice of that to the Missouri Ethics Commission.
She has little name recognition, compared to White, whose celebrity stems from his many years playing second base for the Kansas City Royals.
As a Republican in a county that has not elected anyone but Democrats to county-wide office in nearly a century, Smith would seem to also have an uphill climb. But as it stands, he may have the Republican nomination to himself should he file for office when the window for doing so opens Feb. 22.
Theresa Galvin, one of two Republicans on the county legislature, had explored whether to run to unseat White, with whom she has had differences over policies. But on Tuesday she told The Star that said she is now more likely to seek re-election to a third, four-year term.
“If I were to file today, I would file for county legislature,” she said.
If she changes her mind, Smith said he would welcome a discussion about his whereabouts last Jan. 6.
“I would ask Theresa Galvin why were you not there on Jan. 6,” he said. “I didn’t see her.”
Smith said it was his second trip to Washington for a pro-Trump rally after the 2020 general election. Since then, he has commented often online about how he perceived the outcome of the presidential race to be unfair, while also addressing local controversies about county government mask mandates.
On his website beatfrankwhite.com, he says he aims to just that.
“Obviously (he’s) a great guy, a nice guy, a great baseball player, but as a county executive, a total failure. Well, I mean, I mean, I’m clearly qualified, I can run this county. I’ve got the experience in government, know how it should work. And this is the year he’s beatable.”
White declined comment.
This story was originally published February 2, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
