Jenna Ryan says it all started with an invitation from a “very cute guy” on Facebook: would she join him on a private plane for the January 6 Trump rally in Washington, DC?
The decision was easy. Ryan, a Dallas real estate agent, is single, loves President Donald Trump and believes in the discredited claim that the election was riddled with fraud.
But the trip did not end happily.
48 hours after her return to Texas, social media posts made by Ryan, which was broadcast live entering the Capitol with a crowd of Trump supporters, were being shared with the FBI and she would soon become the subject of a federal investigation.
She didn’t catch the guy either. He got on well with a different woman, she says.
“He was adorable,” Ryan told NBC News. “And there was another lovely girl there too, and they ended up being together, damn it.”
Ryan, 50, was arrested last Friday on charges of disorderly conduct and intentional entry into a restricted area.
But in a free and sometimes combative interview, she expressed no regret for participating in the Capitol’s incursion and said she believes she has not committed any crime.
“It’s not my fault in my heart,” said Ryan, who is also a life coach and radio host. “My intention was not to make a fuss. I didn’t want to have a riot. I was documenting what was happening in the environment I was in. “
“I am happy to have been there,” she added later in the interview. “Because I witnessed the story. And I will never have a chance to do that again … No one will probably be able to get close [the Capitol] again.”
Ryan also downplayed the inflammatory language she used in her social media posts on the day of the Capitol violation. In a video scene before she headed for the building, Ryan said, “Let’s go down and invade the Capitol.”
In the interview, she said she was not suggesting an act of aggression.
“If you search for the term storm, you can invade the kitchen. You can invade and say, ‘Enough,’ said Ryan. “I am not invading to kill people. What I meant, life or death, is that if someone kills me, I will defend my truth, even if someone kills me. “
The ill-fated trip to Washington came along at the last minute.
Ryan said the handsome stranger contacted her on Facebook two days before the planned rally.
She always wanted to participate in a MAGA event and the idea of taking a private jet to get to one suited her a lot. But first, she made sure that her best friend Brian, who was also her “bodyguard,” could enter.
“I always see all these MAGA rallies, so I said, ‘Wow, come on’,” she said. “I mean, who wouldn’t get on a private jet?”
The trip to Washington was great, she said. The handful of people on the flight were drinking and getting to know each other. Ryan took a picture inside the cabin and posted it on his Facebook page.
“We were going in solidarity with President Trump,” she said. “President Trump requested that we be in DC on the 6th. So that was our way of preventing theft. “
After spending the night at a hotel in DC, they woke up around 6 am, put on their “Trump stuff” and went out to mingle with other like-minded Patriots.
The group ended up being far behind in the crowd to hear speeches by President Rudy Giuliani and others. But Ryan had a more pressing problem.
“There were no chamber pots,” she said. “We were unable to reach a potty.”
“That was, like, my biggest concern, actually,” she added. “Where’s the chamber pot? Because I like to know whenever I have a bathroom nearby. “
They finally returned to the hotel to warm up. They were horrified by what they saw on TV when Vice President Mike Pence chaired a joint session of Congress to certify the results of the November elections.
“We saw Pence accept the fraudulent election – what we believe to be fraudulent,” she said.
“We were devastated,” she said. “It was as if my father – someone I love, someone I respect – betrayed someone I love and respect, including the country … I couldn’t believe it.”
Ryan said he didn’t want to leave the hotel again – “I think we walked 20,000 steps that day” – but decided to go with his friends to the Capitol.
“I didn’t want to stay at the hotel alone,” she said.
Sometime before leaving the hotel, she posted a deleted video on her Facebook page, showing her speaking to the camera in front of the bathroom mirror.
“We are going to go down and invade the Capitol,” she said, according to federal prosecutors. “They are there now and that’s why we came and that’s what we’re going to do. So wish me luck. “
Ryan said they made their way up the Capitol steps. Inside one of the many clips she shot in the crowd and posted online, Ryan called Mitch “tortoise” McConnell, complained that she had to go to the bathroom and said, “We are armed and are dangerous. This is just the beginning.”
In court documents, prosecutors said that a live Facebook video made by Ryan – which was captured before it was deleted and republished on YouTube – shows her entering the Capitol building through the entrance to the Rotunda.
“We are going to get in here. Life or death, ”she says at the beginning of the video, according to prosecutors. “It doesn’t matter. Here we go.”
When she reached the top of the stairs, Ryan turned on the rear camera and said, “You know who to hire for your realtor. Jenna Ryan for her realtor, ”according to the promoters.
At one point, Ryan posed for a photo in front of a broken window and posted it on Twitter. “Window in the capital [sic]”, She wrote, according to federal prosecutors. “And if the news doesn’t stop lying about us, we’ll go after your studios next …”
In the interview with NBC News, Ryan acknowledged that he entered the building after photos appeared showing her inside, but said she only stayed inside for two minutes and left because she felt uncomfortable.
When pressed further on the violent language she used in her videos, Ryan attacked.
“If you want to stick me in the media and make me look like a violent person because it fits your plot, then you know, this is something you will have to live with in your life,” she said. “Because I know my heart was to go out there and let my voice be heard, no matter what. And I was on the Capitol steps, and I did what I came to do. And I prayed. “
Five people died during the riot, including a police officer and a woman who was shot by the police.
Ryan said he felt terrible for the loss of life, but insisted that he believes he didn’t break any laws
“I personally feel innocent in everything I did,” she said. “I feel that it was perfectly within my rights. I feel like the cops are taking people to the Capitol. There were thousands of people there. I have no guilt in my heart. “
Ryan borrowed one of Trump’s signature phrases to describe how she now feels being targeted by the FBI.
“The FBI is going out and breaking into my home for a misdemeanor,” she said. “Taking my MAGA hat. OK? They took my MAGA hat. “
Ryan also said that she “gave up on America” and will not vote again because she believes the electoral system is corrupt.
She said she remains convinced that the results were fraudulent, although election officials in all 50 states have certified them and dozens of judges, including Republicans and even some appointed by Trump, have dismissed the allegations.
“It didn’t bother me,” said Ryan. “No one heard the evidence,” she added.
She now fears that all Trump supporters will be considered terrorists and silenced by President Joe Biden.
And she made an appeal to President Trump to forgive her and the other non-violent protesters. But if he doesn’t, Ryan said that she wouldn’t blame him.
“I will support him, no matter what he does,” she said.