A federal judge said on Friday that a Texas florist who was accused of participating in the US Capitol riot last month could travel to Mexico for what she described as a “work-related bond retreat”.
Judge Trevor N. McFadden, from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, granted the woman, Jenny Louise Cudd, permission to make the prepaid trip this month, saying she had no criminal record and there was no evidence that she was a risk or danger flight for other people.
Judge McFadden also said that Ms. Cudd’s pre-trial services officer and prosecutors did not object to her travel request. Ms. Cudd must provide her itinerary to the pre-trial officer and follow any other instructions the officer gives her, the judge said.
Ms. Cudd, who was accused of violent entry and being in a restricted building or land, said in a court case that she “planned and prepaid” the retreat with her employees in Riviera Maya, south of Cancún, from February. February 18th to 21st.
A grand jury indicted Ms. Cudd of Midland Texas on five counts, including disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and obstructing an official lawsuit, according to documents filed with the federal court.
Ms. Cudd broadcast a live video of herself inside the Capitol on January 6, the FBI said. In the video, Ms. Cudd said she was watching President Donald J. Trump speak before “accusing Capitol today of patriots”.
“Hell, yes, I’m proud of my actions,” she said in the video.
In the video, she also said, “We broke the door to Nancy Pelosi’s office and someone stole her hammer and took a picture sitting on the chair and turning off the camera and that was on Fox News.”
Ms. Cudd, wearing a “Women for Trump 2020” cap, said later in an interview with a television station that she “would do it again in the blink of an eye”. She ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Midland in 2019.
Ms. Cudd was allowed to remain free pending trial, according to federal court records. A judge ordered her to stay away from Washington and said that any travel plans must be approved by the court, according to the conditions of her release.
In court documents, Ms. Cudd’s lawyers said she had no criminal record, that she fulfilled the conditions of her release, and that a pre-trial service officer assigned to her case “had no objection” to the travel request.
Pre-trial service officers are assigned to defendants to ensure that they do not commit a crime while awaiting trial and return to court when they receive the order.
David Kent, a federal prosecutor assigned to Ms. Cudd’s case, told his lawyers that “the government does not take a position on Ms. Cudd’s request” to travel to Mexico, Ms. Cudd’s lawyers wrote in a lawsuit .
Two of Ms. Cudd’s initial lawyers in the case, Farheena Siddiqui and Marina Medvin, did not return requests for comment. Mr. Kent and the Justice Department did not respond to messages this week.