Capitol Rioter Asks Donald Trump For Pardon, Implicates Him In Crime
Texas real estate broker Jenna Ryan, who participated in last week’s riots at the U.S. Capitol, pleaded with President Donald Trump to grant her a pardon.
In a video released Saturday by The Guardian, Ryan confirmed that she participated in the riots and revealed that she is being prosecuted.
She described being arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as a “very strange” experience, but noted that the agents were “very professional.”
Ryan explained that she does not regret her actions or feel any shame because she was simply “doing [her] patriotic duty” and following Trump’s orders.
“I thought I was following my president. I thought I was following what we were called to do. He asked us to fly there. He asked us to be there.”
Ryan noted that she neither feels guilty nor like a criminal, but said that she feels “wronged” because her business is now suffering.
“I’m a real estate agent and this has taken my company,” Ryan said, adding that she is allegedly being “slandered” by the press.
The real estate broker opined that everyone who participated in the riots deserves a pardon from Trump because he told them to be in Washington, D.C., in order to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
“I’m facing a prison sentence. I think that I do not deserve that,” Ryan continued, stressing that every rioter needs to be pardoned by Trump because all of them will eventually be arrested.
“From what I understand, everyone is going to be arrested… so I think everyone deserves a pardon and I would ask the President of the United States to give me a pardon.”
By repeatedly asserting that she and other protesters violently stormed the Capitol building because Trump told them to, Ryan seemed to implicate the commander-in-chief in what is a potentially serious crime.
Trump has refused to take responsibility for the unprecedented violence in the nation’s capital, arguing that the speech he held before the riot could not have inspired his supporters to commit violent acts.
Earlier this week, as C-SPAN reported via Twitter, the commander-in-chief said that his speech was “totally appropriate” and claimed that many people share his opinion.
So far, Trump has not indicated that he intends to pardon any of his supporters. However, he is reportedly looking into pardoning former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, attorney Rudy Giuliani and members of his own family.