Texas broker pleads guilty to misdemeanor for involvement in Capitol riot

Jenna Ryan, who documented the event on social media then asked Trump for a pardon, could face up to 6 months

Texas broker pleads guilty to misdemeanor for involvement in Capitol riot
Jenna Ryan and a screen capture from the FBI's Statement of Facts (DFW Real Estate, US Magistrate Judge)

A Texas real estate broker who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6 and documented it on social media pleaded guilty on Thursday to a misdemeanor charge for her involvement in the riot.

Jenna Ryan agreed to pay $500 in restitution for damages to the Capitol during the attack, according to CNN.

The Justice Department has cut similar deals with other nonviolent participants in the attempted insurrection. Ryan could face up to six months in prison, but a maximum sentence is unlikely.

The 51-year-old owner of Frisco-based First Place Real Estate was initially unapologetic about her conduct, telling a Dallas TV station in January that she was simply following then-President Trump’s instructions and “displaying her patriotism.”

Ryan also posted a photo of herself in front of a broken window at the Capitol building with the caption “and if the news doesn’t stop lying about us we’re going to come after their studios next…”

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By February, she appeared to have some regrets, telling the Washington Post that she “bought into the lie” and calling the situation “embarrassing.”

But a month later in March, she remained defiant, denying wrongdoing and tweeting that she was “definitely not going to jail.”

“Sorry I have blonde hair white skin a great job a great future and I’m not going to jail… I did nothing wrong,” she wrote.

Ryan is one of around 575 people that the Justice Department charged with crimes related to the January 6 riot. She is scheduled to be sentenced in November.

[CNN] — Dennis Lynch