Published to the Deerfield Valley News in December 2021 and printed in their October 6th edition

WHITINGHAM – In a press release sent on Sunday, October 2, the Vermont Democratic Party called on the Vermont Republican Party to “remove its endorsement of [John] Lyddy and terminate all support.” The request was made after discovering a Facebook comment indicating that John Lyddy, the Windham-6 Republican candidate for the Vermont House of Representatives, was present during the January 6 protest-turned-riot. The VDP formally named him an “insurrectionist” and a “traitor.”
“I was there,” Lyddy told The Deerfield Valley News, “along with hundreds of thousands of people that were voicing their First Amendment rights, objecting to the irregularities of the voting process in a number of swing states.”
Lyddy had driven down to Washington in his own personal vehicle with Sharon, his wife of 22 years, to participate in what he believed would be an important protest. “I felt it would be a historic event, and by God it was. Not the kind of historic event that I anticipated, but definitely a historic event.”
Lyddy and his wife started at the Washington Monument and listened to speeches before walking to the Capitol. “I was within 50 yards of the Capitol building for about an hour and a half, when several paramilitary groups marched up to the building and started climbing over the stages they had put up for the presidential address,” he said.
As things quickly turned violent, Lyddy knew he had to get out. “We did see somebody start breaking in. About 15 minutes later, a guy came out and said that Ashli Babbit had been shot and killed inside. I looked at my wife and I said, ‘We didn’t come here for this,’ and we left.”
Lyddy is demanding a retraction of the entire release on the grounds that it is “wholly inaccurate.” If a retraction is refused, he has made inquiries to a law firm regarding legal action. 
“We know the Vermont Republican Party is filthy with insurrectionist sympathizers,” VDP Executive Director Jim Dandeneau is quoted in the release, “but to actively be supporting a traitor like Lyddy should be a bridge too far in Phil Scott’s party.”
“Yes, I was at the Capitol,” Lyddy said. “No, I’m not an insurrectionist, and no, I’m not a traitor to my country. These were paramilitary groups that made a decision to come to the District of Columbia and break into the Capitol building to stop the voting process. I condemn their actions wholeheartedly. That’s why I left.”
Lyddy comes from a family history of civil service and giving back to the community. His father and grandfather are both veterans, and his uncle and cousin have held positions in law enforcement leadership. 
He has worked with Twice Blessed for over two decades to help the community. 
He says, in regard to being called a traitor, “It angers me, but I know where I stand, so I can take it.”
As for denying the results of the election, while Lyddy contends that there were many voting irregularities, he acknowledges that Joe Biden is the legal president of the United States, and said he never believed in overturning the results of the 2020 election. 
“I don’t dispute or challenge the results of the election, I dispute and challenge the process by which we allowed votes to happen, which has been corrected now in most cases,” he said. “I really did feel that if hundreds of thousands of people surrounded the Capitol building and voiced their opposition to the voting process, there would be some kind of effect. But the effect was not supposed to be stopping the Electoral College from being counted.”
Lyddy argues that voting irregularities are nothing new for the country and have been happening for over a century. However, he believes that with the modifications made to the voting process to accommodate for the COVID-19 pandemic, “we lost control.”
When asked his opinion had the outcome of the 2020 election been different, he maintains that he would stand up against corruption no matter the party in question.
“If I saw that kind of voter corruption in the 2016 election, yes. I would be down there protesting,” he said. “I take positions that are contrary to the party all the time.” 
“I think what bothers the Democratic party is so many other people are involved in the democratic process and doing a good job of it,” said Lyddy. “The only thing I did was express my First Amendment rights, but they wrote it as if I had entered the Capitol building.” 
He believes the press release to be over the top and desperate, but even more, he worries that it takes focus away from what’s really important. The end of the release tells voters they must choose this November between “voting to secure your rights and the continuation of our democracy, or far-right Republicans actively trying to dismantle our country.”
“This is not a choice between voting to secure our rights and the continuation of our democracy,” responded Lyddy. “This is about the day-to-day ability to live in this country and this state, without spending every dollar we have trying to feed our families and get to work. That’s what it’s about.” 
Lyddy asserts that he is focused on the opioid epidemic in Vermont, the lack of affordable housing for working people, and rising fuel costs, rather than slander and vituperative behavior. 
“Politicians who do this are not politicians,” he said. “They don’t want solutions. What they want is to beat down the voters in this state so they don’t vote for somebody other than their own party. Do you ever ask yourself why a state party came after me? I’m just a little guy. They’re trying to influence a state representative race in a small district. What do you think is really going on?”