Stewart Parks, the Tennessean who was unjustly convicted and imprisoned for being present at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) declaring his candidacy for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District.
Parks submitted an FEC Statement of Candidacy form on Thursday, officially designating himself as a candidate in the race to fill U.S. Representative Mark Green’s (R-TN-07) seat, who retired from Congress last week.
In November 2023, Parks was sentenced to three years imprisonment on misdemeanor trespassing, disorderly conduct, and theft charges by D.C. Circuit Court Judge Amit P. Mehta.
Parks served his sentence concurrently, reducing his term to eight months behind bars.
After serving more than five months of his eight-month prison term at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Memphis, Parks officially exited federal custody on August 5, 2024, upon his release from a Nashville halfway house.
On January 20, 2025, Parks was among the individuals involved with the January 6 protest who received a full pardon by President Donald Trump.
Parks, who graduated from Volunteer State Community College with an associate degree and the University of Mississippi with a degree in economics, owns multiple real estate companies in Nashville and has restored several historic properties across Middle Tennessee.
On a recent episode of You’re So Right, hosted by former Nashville GOP Chairman Lonnie Spivak, Parks described himself as a conservative Republican who, if elected to Congress, would fight to enact President Donald Trump’s agenda, specifically when it comes to bringing down prices for consumers and securing the U.S. southern border.
“I’m very pro-Trump. Obviously, I went to prison for Trump, so I want to see the Trump agenda be passed,” he said.
Parks joins an increasingly crowded Republican primary for the special election to fill Green’s congressional seat.
In addition to Parks, former Tennessee Department of General Services Commissioner Matt Van Epps, Montgomery County Commissioner Jason Knight, State Representative Jody Barrett (R-Dickson), State Representative Lee Reeves (R-Franklin), State Representative Jay Reedy (R-Erin), Springfield resident Jon Thorpe, and Mason Foley have all launched campaigns for the open seat.
The office of Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, who has yet to call a special election for the seat, has said the “anticipated” dates for the elections to fill the open seat will be October 7 for the primary, with the general election taking place on December 2.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Stewart Parks” by Stewart Parks.
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