One of the most infamous of the 6 January rioters who attacked the US Capitol has been released from jail after serving her sentence – and has immediately returned to social media to share angry conspiracy theories about the state of the US.
Jenna Ryan, a Texas realtor who flew to Washington on a private jet to take part in the protest against Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election, was ordered to pay a $1,500 fine and sentenced to 60 days in jail.
This sentence was handed down despite a tweet in which she insisted: “Definitely not going to jail. Sorry I have blonde hair, white skin, a great job, a great future, and I’m not going to jail. Sorry to rain on your hater parade. I did nothing wrong.”
Despite this claim, she ultimately pleaded guilty to misdemeanour charges.
An avid social media user who live-streamed during the attack, she posted after her sentencing: “I’m just gonna make a blanket statement to all the people that are calling me and texting me. You win!!! I’m going to prison. So you don’t need to contact me anymore. Pop champagne and then rejoice. But just leave me alone. Thank you.”
She even appeared to disown Donald Trump at one point, telling the Washington Post a month after the insurrection that “I’m a complete villain. I was down there based on what my president said. ‘Stop the steal.’ Now I see that it was all over nothing. He was just having us down there for an ego boost. I was there for him.”
Now she has been released, however, Ms Ryan’s Twitter feed is once again filled with the sorts of conspiracy theories that many of those who invaded the Capitol on 6 January have cited as justification for their actions.
Among the posts she has shared are misleading and false claims about an “illegal spy ring” who supposedly conspired against Donald Trump on behalf of Hillary Clinton, who also “fabricated the Russian collusion hoax”.
She also tweeted out a story from Infowars entitled “The Mind Control Police: The Government’s War on Thought Crimes and Truth-Tellers”, a lengthy screed against the rollout of a new domestic terrorism unit by the Justice Department.
