A former Ohio school therapist, photographed at the desk of Vice President Mike Pence during last week’s deadly attack on the United States Capitol, has been charged with several criminal charges, officials said.
Christine Marie Priola, 49, resigned as an occupational therapist in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District the day after the famous capture of her image in the uproar that left at least five dead.
“I will change my path to expose the global evil of human trafficking and pedophilia, including in our government and child agencies,” wrote Priola in a resignation letter released by the district on January 7.
She was charged with three federal crimes: violent entry and disorderly conduct, intentional entry into a restricted building and illegal activities on Capitol grounds, according to a criminal complaint written by United States Vice Marshal David Kasulones.
Priola first appeared before a federal judge on Thursday and was released on $ 20,000 bail, according to the prosecutor’s office in Cleveland.
A complaint to FBI agents in Cleveland apparently led investigators to Priola.
Priola was inside Senate chambers “holding a sign, reading, in part, ‘Children cry out for justice'” while “occupying the United States vice president chair,” according to the criminal complaint.
Protesters, incited by President Donald Trump’s constant lies that he won the November general election, invaded the Capitol on January 6 in hopes of violently preventing Congress from formalizing President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
“The woman also wore a red winter coat and different pants that seemed to have the name ‘Trump’ and other words written on the leg,” added Kasulones.
There was no response on Friday to two publicly listed Priola phone numbers. Two federal public defenders, listed as their lawyers, could not be reached immediately for comment on Friday.
In Priola’s resignation letter to the CMSD, she cited three reasons for quitting her $ 62,205 job a year, helping to design special education plans for students with disabilities.
Priola said he is opposed to the coronavirus vaccine, opposed to union fees “that support the killing of unborn children” and says he is embarking on a new career to combat government-sponsored trafficking.
Unsubstantiated claims that government officials are part of a secret conspiracy of child sex traffickers have become the basis of extreme right-wing conspiracy dogma.
Shamar Walters and Helen Kwong contributed.