Capitol rioter Jenna Ryan has been sentenced to two months behind bars despite believing her white privilege was enough to protect her freedom.
The Texas real estate agent pleaded guilty in July to a misdemeanor charge of parading on Capitol grounds in connection to the insurrection. Although she faced up to six months in prison, Ryan will only serve 60 days beginning at the top of next year; she was also fined $1,000 as well as $500 in restitution, according to her Nov. 4 sentencing.
Ryan, 50, enthusiastically shared photos and video from the U.S. Capitol, where she and thousands of former President Donald Trump’s supporters converged with a common goal: to overturn election results that determined Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States.
The rioters were anything but peaceful as they climbed over barricades, trampled officers, broke windows and forced their way into the Capitol building as Electoral College votes were being certified by Congress.
The U.S. Department of Justice and FBI have worked for months to bring rioters to justice; thus far more than 650 people have been arrested. Those, with the exception of Ryan, who plead guilty to misdemeanor charges have only been sentenced to probation and home confinement, whereas those guilty of felony charges are facing prison sentences.
Ryan, who self-identifies as a patriot, received a prison sentence for a lack of remorse in participating on that chaotic and fatal day. The punishment for participating in a destructive protest apparently was unexpected by Ryan, who has boasted on social media that being white, having blond hair and a good job would insulate her from seeing a jail cell. On Twitter she wrote, “You win!!! I’m going to prison […] Pop champagne and then rejoice.”
She also insinuated that her sentencing was more a result of a “smear campaign” than it was about her tweeting and sharing proof of her involvement in the insurrection.
Her tweet read, “I’m not going to prison for the things that I said, or standing in front of the broken window. Its for walking in Capitol for 2 mins & what the judge says is to serve a deterrence to others since I have a high profile (Which I got after the facts thanks to MSM smear campaign).”
On social, the Dallas-area resident has continued to share election misinformation. She has even boasted that arriving in a private jet with friends to D.C. was all a part of supporting Trump. That pride was captured in photos such as the one showing Ryan standing in a Trump beanie outside a broken Capitol window while all smiles.
However, in February while speaking with the Washington Post, Ryan slightly changed her tune. “I bought into a lie, and the lie is the lie, and it’s embarrassing,” she told the outlet. “I regret everything. Not one patriot is standing up for me. I’m a complete villain. I was down there based on what my president said: ‘Stop the steal.’ Now I see that it was all over nothing. He was just having us down there for an ego boost. I was there for him.”
Criticisms of the self-employed woman have been harsh but match the enthusiasm she has in continuing to share pro-Trump false election narratives online. “Lol. When white privilege goes wrong,” wrote a person on Twitter. Another wrote, “She deserves every second of jail time. Nobody feels sorry for her.”
