Despite ‘blonde hair white skin’ theory, Frisco real estate broker gets 60 days for D.C. riot role

A Frisco real estate agent was sentenced Thursday to 60 days in prison for storming the U.S. Capitol in one of the harshest sentences given to any participant in the January 6th uprising.

Jenna Ryan surrendered to the FBI about a week after the uprising and pleaded guilty in August of staging parades, demonstrations or pickets in a Capitol building.

She gained notoriety after the uprising for bragging about her participation online through photos and videos documenting her involvement. She said in media interviews that she has no regrets about what she did and posted a tweet in March saying, “Sorry, I have blonde hair, white skin, a great job, a great future, and I won’t go to jail . … I did nothing wrong.”

Judge Christopher R. Cooper sentenced Ryan on Thursday while citing Ryan’s lack of remorse for her actions and decision to join the riot after seeing rioters climb the walls of the Capitol, according to The Washington Post. He said the verdict would show how America responded to the uprising.

“I think the phrase should tell them we take it seriously, that it was an attack on our democracy … and that it should never happen again,” Cooper said, according to the Post.

Among the photos and videos Ryan shared to document her involvement was a video in which she said, “We’re going to go down and storm the Capitol.” She also had a 21 minute Facebook video live streamed of herself and a group walking towards the Capitol, where she can say, “We will” [expletive] go in here. Life or death, it doesn’t matter. Here we go.”

In January, Ryan said she was following former President Donald Trump’s call to stand up against election fraud, despite dozens of judges confirming there wasn’t one.

Ryan had asked for parole. Her attorney, Guy L. Womack, was not available for comment.

Jennifer Ryan is shown here rioters destroying press equipment on the Capitol grounds.(Justice Department)

Womack said in a lawsuit that his client was exercising her right to freedom of expression when she criticized what she believed was a stolen election. He found that she cooperated with the authorities, handed over her cell phone and various computer devices, was not violent, and had not broken into the chambers of the Senate or the House of Representatives.

“There is no evidence that Ms. Ryan went more than ten feet past the door through which she entered the Capitol,” he wrote in a judgment memo.

Ryan is a 1988 graduate of South Garland High School who also attended Dallas Baptist University and the Christ for the Nations Institute in Dallas.

She flew to Washington DC in a private jet with two other North Texas real estate agents who were also charged in connection with the riot. They are waiting for their trial.

The US Attorney’s Office in Washington DC had ordered the judge to sentence Ryan to 60 days in prison and sentenced her to $ 500 in reparation. She had faced up to six months.

In a 28-page conviction memo, U.S. Assistant Attorney Karen Rochlin cited Ryan’s defiance, lack of remorse, feelings of entitlement, and her position in influencing her numerous social media followers to argue for jail time.

Rochlin said Ryan promoted and celebrated violence, and also displayed dishonesty and a “mercenary exploitation of the insurrection.”

“These defendants’ sense of impunity is striking, not only because they put themselves above the law, but because they believe that their social status and race protect them from accountability,” Rochlin wrote.

Prosecutors referred to this tweet from Jennifer Ryan when they asked a judge to give her a jail sentence(Justice Department)

Ryan has been promoting her personal brand for over a decade, “touting her achievements as a real estate agent, self-help coach and media personality,” the prosecutor said. The self-described social media influencer has amassed thousands of followers on social media, including nearly 19,000 on Twitter, Rochlin said.

As such, Ryan was able to promote violence quickly and effectively and spread false information, the prosecutor said.

She said Ryan also deserved to be behind bars for defiantly participating in a riotous mob attack on the Capitol and sharing the triumphant experience with her supporters publicly “cheerleading” the violence.

Ryan called January 6th the “best day of my life” and said she deserved a medal for participating in the chaos and destruction, according to court records.

At least 4 deaths are attributed to the riots and more than 100 police officers were injured. It caused over $ 1 million in property damage, federal agencies said.

Ryan had a “difficult and traumatic childhood” and previous assaults and driving with a driver’s license revoked, court records show. Authorities said Ryan also consistently avoided paying her taxes and did not pay off her $ 35,000 tax debt until April.

After the uprising, she publicly requested a presidential pardon for her crimes and blamed others such as the FBI and the Antifa for the violence and destruction on January 6, according to court records.

To go to war

Even before the January 6 attack, Ryan had repeatedly broadcast statements that the day was a “prelude” to the “war,” Rochlin said. As she left her hotel, Ryan said during the livestream that she was “kind of freaked out”. Because I’m going to war, ”said the court records.

She told her followers, “We’re going to break these windows, we have to deal with the tear bombs.” And as she neared the Capitol entrance, she added, “Life or death, it doesn’t matter, let’s go.”

Ryan also joined those chanting “Hang Mike Pence” and she threatened the media covering the uprising saying, “If the news doesn’t stop lying about us, the next thing we will do is haunt their studios.” , Court records say. When a crowd of rioters smashed press equipment on the Capitol grounds, Ryan posted a tweet about it calling it a “cool moment”.

Rochlin said Ryan also saw her participation in the riot as an opportunity to capitalize on her newfound fame. During the uprising, she bragged about selling houses and proclaimed, “You people, will you believe this? I don’t play around. When I come to sell your house, I will. I will [expletive] sell your house. “

And a week later, she was trying to figure out how to turn the valuable advertising into more business opportunities, authorities said. Ryan believed her January 6 ad would get her in “every magazine in the world” and that it was time to “prepare for business,” records show.

“For the defendant, a mob attack in the heart of the country’s democracy was an appropriate opportunity to take advantage of the business development,” wrote Rochlin. “Her carefree behavior shows indifference to her own illegal activity and its seriousness, although it has been proven that she has recognized the potential for harm.”

Prosecutors referred to this Ryan tweet in their verdict.(Justice Department)

But it was Ryan’s public boast that her white skin and social status would protect her from the consequences prosecutors picked up on in their verdict. Ryan predicted after the riot she would get off scott free.

“These defendants’ sense of impunity is striking, not only because they put themselves above the law, but because they believe that their social status and race protect them from accountability,” the prosecutor wrote. “A defendant who believes she is immune to severe punishment because of her race and appearance may relapse because the defendant believes the consequences of wrongdoing will never be grave, even if the severity is justified.”

Womack said Ryan had only been in the Capitol for about two minutes.

“She just walked through the door, stood peacefully, sang quietly with the crowd, and then left when she entered,” he wrote.

Womack said what offended the government was their constitutionally protected speech that day and after.

“MS. Ryan has not damaged property or incited violence,” he wrote. “Your comments on social media reflected her belief that there was a wrong in the conduct of the presidential election, that there was significant electoral fraud, and that the Presidency was actually stolen. “

He added that there may be millions of American voters who feel like his client that day.

“Her comments are not illegal and she was not charged with speaking at the protest.”

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2021/11/04/frisco-real-estate-agent-jenna-ryan-sentenced-to-60-days-in-jail-for-role-in-us-capitol-riot/