A Texas real estate broker who was part of the pro-Trump crowd that attacked the United States Capitol said on Monday that it was just following Donald Trump’s orders, although it faced federal charges for its participation in the insurrection.
“It’s not my fault in my heart,” Jenna Ryan told NBC News. “I am happy to be there because I have witnessed history. And I will never have a chance to do that again. “
Ryan, who flew to Washington on a private jet, said he made the trip “in solidarity with President Trump.”
“President Trump requested that we be in DC on January 6,” she said. “So that was our way of preventing theft.
Trump still insists that the election was stolen by Joe Biden through major electoral fraud, an unfounded claim repeatedly rejected in court and dismissed by the U.S. Department of Justice and state Republican officials.
Accused of inciting the violent attack on the Capitol, Trump was charged a second time. His supporters in the Republican party and the right-wing media insist he did not, statements contradicted by Trump’s own words when he told his supporters to “fight like the devil”.
“I listen to my president, who told me to go to Capitol,” she told CBS in an earlier interview.
Ryan told NBC that his “biggest concern” at the rally before the attack on the Capitol was that “there were no chamber pots… because I always like to know that I have a bathroom nearby”.
Subsequently, she left a trail of social media posts documenting her participation in the insurrection, including a photo by a broken window and a video of her saying: “We are armed and dangerous. This is just the beginning.”
A live stream from Facebook showed Ryan joining Capitol, promoting his real estate business and saying, “We are going to get in here. Life or death.”
Five people died as a result of the attack, including a police officer who confronted Trump supporters, a rowdy shot by the police and another Trump supporter who was crushed by the crowd.
Ryan, who is also a life coach and radio host, faces charges of disorderly conduct and intentionally entering a restricted area.
She told NBC that although she joined a crowd that invaded the Capitol, where some protesters ransacked offices and sought out lawmakers to kidnap and kill, some shouting “Hang Mike Pence”, she was not advocating the aggression.
“If you search for the term ‘storm’, you can make a storm in the kitchen,” she said. “You can break in and say ‘Enough’. I’m not invading to kill people. What I meant, ‘life or death’, is if someone kills me, I will defend my truth, even if someone kills me. “
Like other mafia members, Ryan apologized to Trump.
It is unclear whether Trump will include any of the protesters on a list of about 100 people he plans to forgive in his final days in office. Allies warned against this.
Trump met with White House advisers, including his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner to finalize the list. According to CNN, it will likely include white-collar criminals and a famous rapper, among others.
Ryan said he would not accuse Trump if there was no forgiveness.
“I will support him, no matter what he does,” she said.