Running mate for Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Kendall Qualls was on Capitol grounds during Jan. 6 attack

MINNEAPOLIS - The running mate of the Republican-endorsed candidate for Minnesota governor was on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on Congress and says he has "no regrets" about his participation in protests that turned to violent riots.

Brian Nicholson, a businessman chosen by Kendall Qualls to run as his lieutenant governor, said in a statement to the Minnesota Star Tribune that he was "one of thousands of patriots who went to Washington, D.C." to support President Donald Trump and said he left the area "when things turned violent."

Nicholson issued the statement after the Star Tribune presented the Qualls campaign with a photo and video showing Nicholson on the Capitol lawn. In one photo, published by the Washingtonian magazine, Nicholson can be seen standing inside a law enforcement barricade that had been violently breached by rioters seeking to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden's victory over Trump.

"I don't apologize for being there," Nicholson said, adding that he does not support violence against law enforcement. "There were a lot of questions about the results of the 2020 election and I wanted to hear from, and show my support for, the greatest president of my lifetime."

Nicholson, a first-time candidate who operates several businesses, has said little publicly about whether he believes false claims that the 2020 election was fraudulent. Qualls has spoken about his support for increased election security, but has not explicitly said the election was stolen. Qualls was endorsed at a contentious convention in May marred by a chaotic vote and disputed claims of irregularities.

His campaign did not respond to question about whether he knew that Nicholson was at the Capitol on Jan. 6. The revelation may fuel GOP worries about Qualls's electability in a general election in a state Trump has lost three times.

Seven people died during the attack or in its wake, including three police officers, according to a bipartisan Senate report. Two more officers later died by suicide. More than 140 officers were injured.

The revelation about Nicholson comes as Republicans believe they have a chance to end their losing streak for statewide offices this year because of how Democrats handled a sprawling fraud crisis in state government.

But the Jan. 6 attack and President Donald Trump's election lies are not popular in Minnesota. In the fall of 2021, 60% of Minnesota voters in a poll said they believed Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 election.

Qualls was endorsed by the Minnesota Republican Party in May, but he's running in a hotly contested primary against House Speaker Lisa Demuth and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell. Lindell, a close Trump ally, has faced financial and legal trouble for championing the president's conspiracy theories about the 2020 elections and electronic voting machines and had the lowest level of support among the three candidates in recent polling.

On Jan. 6, 2021, Trump held a rally near the White House, speaking around noon. As Trump was talking, his supporters walked more than a mile east to the Capitol grounds, which were surrounding by temporary fencing.

Just before 1 p.m. that day, the far-right militia group known as the Proud Boys led the crowd in violently shoving those barricades - and law enforcement working security behind them - to breach the protective perimeter near the Peace Circle that blocked access to the Capitol lawn.

That push allowed the mass of people to flood onto the lawn. The Washingtonian photo shows Nicholson and business partner Michael Hoagberg in the middle of a crowd located between the Peace Circle and the Capitol building.

Nicholson's claim that he left before the crowd turned violent appears to clash with the photo and video of him on the Capitol lawn.

It's unclear what time the picture was taken, but it came after the perimeter was breached. Shortly after, police were combatting the crowd with chemical spray and other defensive tactics, according to the Senate report and Capitol police.

Nicholson and Hoagberg can also be seen near the steps of the Capitol in a video from the conservative social media site Parler.

At that point, the video shows rioters occupying bleachers for Biden's inauguration, suggesting the duo were present after the Capitol steps and the building itself were breached by force and police had issued a call to disperse.

The Minnesota Star Tribune does not have any evidence that Nicholson participated in any violence or entered the Capitol building. The photo and video show him and Hoagberg outside on the grounds. Nicholson said he never entered the Capitol building.

"President Trump needs strong patriots across the country and that's why Kendall and I are running to restore Minnesota," Nicholson said.

Trump pardoned, commuted prison sentences or promised to dismiss cases against more than 1,500 people charged with crimes related to the attack when he took office last year.

Nicholson is not the only person present during the Jan. 6 assault who has run for office or joined the government in prominent positions. Earlier this month, the Pentagon hired a man for a sensitive counterterrorism role who pleaded guilty to entering a busted Capitol window.

Locally, a man who was convicted for assaulting police on Jan. 6 ran for a state Senate seat in western Minnesota as a Republican. Brian Mock dropped out of the race after the GOP did not endorse him, however. Instead, local Republicans picked Braxton Seifert.

Trump's effort to set up a fund for people who participated in the Jan. 6 riot also floundered with Republicans in the U.S. Senate.

Lindell and his running mate Phil Parrish said they weren't at the Jan. 6 attack. Lindell, who attended Trump's rally before the riot, said he was at a hotel in Washington D.C. that day but never went to the Capitol. Demuth's campaign said she and her running mate, Ryan Wilson, were not at the Capitol either.

Nicholson and Hoagberg run many local companies together in Minnesota. One of Nicholson's businesses is School Space Media, which operates Neighborhood Sports Network (NSPN), the primary livestreaming partner for Strib Varsity, the Minnesota Star Tribune's high school sports franchise. NSPN has no involvement in any coverage decisions by the Star Tribune or Strib Varsity.

Nicholson's business record has already been the focus of controversy since he was named as Qualls' running mate in March. He and Hoagberg are facing allegations of financial misconduct from one of his former senior employees, including that Nicholson used company funds for personal expenses.

Nicholson has denied the allegations in the lawsuit, but it has nevertheless drawn criticism from fellow Republicans who fear the party can't credibly attack Democrats for fraud in state government while facing these kind of accusations.

Qualls stood by Nicholson after the lawsuits became public. From the stage of the GOP convention in Duluth in May, Qualls said what delegates were seeing in the lawsuit was "baseless lies and more fake news," and that people with businesses often face lawsuits.

"President Trump was right: When good people run for office, they get attacked, they get smeared," he said.

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This story was originally published June 26, 2026 at 3:53 PM.