One of the three candidates running for Minnesota state Senate in District 15 said Monday that he wasn’t the only candidate who was in Washington, D.C., the day of riots at the U.S. Capitol.

“One of my opponents here, Tiffany (Lesmeister-Knott) was there, but she doesn’t talk about it,” Mock said, during his closing statements at a Republican candidate forum in Wabasso.

“I went to Jan. 6 supporting our president. That happened back then. There’s bigger fish to fry, as we know, on waste, fraud and abuse,” Lesmeister-Knott said in response to Mock. “I was just there to support.”

Mock was convicted of charges including felony assault in 2023, in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Court documents said Mock was accused of assaulting police officers and stealing equipment like riot shields. Mock was imprisoned, before being pardoned by President Donald Trump in 2025.

Mock didn’t shy away from talking about his prison sentence during Monday’s debate. But during his closing statements, he also said another SD 15 candidate was in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021.

“Tonight you’ve heard a lot of discussion about experience, policies and politics. But the true issue facing our state is a lack of accountability,” Mock said. Mock said he and his girlfriend Larvita McFarquhar were both in Washington for Jan. 6, 2021, and added that he had learned Lesmeister-Knott was as well.

“I didn’t know that she was there until I started running for this Senate seat,” he said. “The question is, why not?”

“I will absolutely call out every politician who puts optics over principle,” Mock said. He also said Lesmeister-Knott “split” Minnesota’s 7th Congressional district and “left it in disarray,” but did not elaborate on what that meant.

Mock went over his allotted time on closing statements. In response, moderators gave candidates Lesmeister-Knott and Braxton Seifert each an additional 15 seconds of speaking time.

In her additional closing statement time, Lesmeister-Knott acknowledged being in Washington on Jan. 6, but only to support President Trump. Since then, she said, “I guess I made better choices. I was just there to support. I did not split CD7.”