WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Texas real estate agent who claimed she was “definitely not going to jail” for participating in the U.S. Capital riot because she’s white, has blonde hair and a good job received a prison sentence Thursday.
Judge Christopher Cooper sentenced Jennifer Leigh Ryan to 60 days behind bars for her actions in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021.
She was also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine.
The judge said that the woman from Frisco, Texas, “celebrated” the riot and that she showed a lack of remorse for her involvement in the riot.
CNN reports Ryan rolled her eyes while the judge delivered her sentence and interrupted him at one point to contradict his statement.
The sentencing is the harshest punishment so far for a rioter who entered a guilty plea to a misdemeanor offense. Ryan pleaded guilty in August to illegally demonstrating inside the U.S. Capitol.
Other rioters who were sentenced for the same misdemeanor conviction have received only probation or home confinement, but The Associated Press reports that prosecutors sought incarceration for Ryan because they believed she showed a lack of candor and remorse.
Months after the January 6 riot, Ryan took to social media to defend herself and claimed she wasn’t going to jail.
“Sorry I have blonde hair, white skin, a great job, a great future, and I'm not going to jail. Sorry to rain on your hater parade. I did nothing wrong,” she tweeted on March 26.
After her sentencing hearing, Ryan told reporters she thinks her situation is a “travesty.”
“I think everyone should be able to tweet without being persecuted and treated like crap. Watch what you tweet because if you tweet, you can go to jail,” said Ryan. “I regret ever tweeting but It’s a free country and I can say – free speech.”
Ryan is the 10th person charged in the riot to get a jail or prison sentence, the AP reports.
