In relation to her involvement in the January 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol, a federal jury found 71-year-old Rebecca Lavrenz of Colorado guilty. Four misdemeanors, including disruptive behavior, parading or picketing in the Capitol, and entering and remaining in a prohibited facility, charged Lavrenz, popularly known as the “J6 Praying Grandma” on social media.
After receiving reports from the FBI that suggested Lavrenz was involved in the Capitol hack, the FBI arrested her in Denver on December 19, 2022. In her deposition before federal agents, Lavrenz acknowledged spending a good ten minutes inside the Capitol. The camera video, which showed Lavrenz among the demonstrators wearing a red scarf, supported her story.
Lavrenz tells The Denver Gazette that she was in the Capitol only for prayer.
“My sole intention in visiting the Capitol was to offer prayers. I was there to defend my country, but I did not get involved for myself. “God guided me to go there and enter the facility in order to defend my First Amendment right to file a complaint with the government.”
Following Lavrenz’s five hours of testimony on Monday, the jury began deliberations at 4:45 p.m., adjourned at 5:30 p.m., and continued their deliberations through Tuesday, Wednesday, and the majority of Thursday. Lavrenz stated that she received follow-up calls to elucidate certain details. Following nearly two days of deliberation, the 12-member jury rendered its ultimate decision late on Thursday afternoon.
Lavrenz declared:
“The jury clearly had at least one member working for me, and many individuals were found guilty in the first hour, so the deliberation was good.”
Lavrenz insisted she was on a mission from God and claimed she had no remorse about what she had done throughout the trial. Roger Roots, her defense lawyer, voiced his displeasure with the decision and said they plan to appeal the verdicts.
To the Colorado Sun, Roots stated:
Regretfully, the Court told the jury that Rebecca had absolutely no protection under the First Amendment at the U.S. Capitol. We plan to challenge her convictions because we think the directions were incorrect. We find the decision to be quite disappointing.
Lavrenz may get a year in prison and penalties surpassing two hundred thousand dollars.
On Truth Social, former President Donald Trump praised Lavrenz as a “patriot” and “peaceful” individual who the Justice Department under Joe Biden had “unfairly pursued”. The Republican presidential candidate sent a link to a fundraiser for Lavrenz while attending a record-breaking event for the Trump 47 Committee the same day.
Author:Â Scott Dowdy