On Jan. 6, Northridge resident Kayla Reifschneider breached the Capitol, attacked members of the press and planned to give weapons to another rioter involved, federal prosecutors allege.
Reifschneider, 27, was arrested by the FBI on Wednesday, three years after the 2021 insurrection.
Kayla Reifschneider was arrested on suspicion of participating in the January 6 insurrection.
(Ministry of Justice)
Reifschneider faces a felony charge of obstructing an official proceeding and misdemeanor charges of entering and remaining in a restricted building and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building.
Messages obtained by federal investigators the day after the attack allegedly show Reifschneider bragging about the violence at the Capitol, where federal prosecutors say she and others were trying to disrupt Congress and prevent the certification of electoral votes for the 2020 presidential election.
When someone asked Reifschneider in a message if police had been injured, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office, the woman responded:
“I definitely saw one get help. Limping. We're worse than antifa and BLM. I burst out laughing.”
The arrest comes more than three years after the attack on the US Capitol, as supporters of then-US President Trump stormed the building after a massive rally in Washington to denounce the results of the 2020 presidential elections.
Hundreds participated, and many headed to conference rooms as members of Congress fled. Despite the passage of time, the FBI and US Department of Justice continued to make arrests and file charges against people accused of participating in the attack.
In court records, federal investigators used and cited open source videos from the Capitol — much of it recorded and livestreamed by people who participated in the incident — to find and identify those who participated in the violent attack.
According to court filings, Reifschneider was part of a Telegram group called the “PATRIOTS45 MAGA Gang” that supported Trump and believed the 2020 election was rigged.
In court filings, prosecutors cite open source video dating from January 6, 2021, that allegedly shows Reifschneider on Upper West Terrace yelling at police, then heading to the east side of the Capitol.
Prosecutors say the photos show Kayla Reifschneider during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
(Ministry of Justice)
There she allegedly targeted members of the media by shouting obscenities and spitting at journalists.
“That spit, b-“!” she allegedly shouts in the video. “Get f-COVID!”
Reifschneider was also seen throwing a helmet at someone, stomping on the camera, and later picking it up and throwing it to the ground.
“It's been four years I've been wanting to do this!” She screams, according to the video.
With another presidential election on the horizon, the January 6, 2021 attack still carries legal ramifications.
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump could not be excluded from the ballot in the state.
The decision overturned the Colorado Supreme Court's decision to disqualify the 45th president from appearing on the presidential ballot because of his role on January 6, 2021. The state judges ruled that a person cannot run for office if he or she has engaged in “insurrection or rebellion.” Rebellion against the United States
The US Supreme Court overturned the ruling.
Reifschneider is one of 1,358 people charged in connection with the Jan. 6 violence, an investigation federal officials say is ongoing.
According to the US Attorney's Office, the attack caused approximately $3 million in damages. About 140 police stations were attacked.
“The Department of Justice’s determination to hold accountable those who committed crimes on January 6, 2021, has not and will not diminish,” the agency said in a statement.
Of the arrests, more than 450 people were charged with assaulting, resisting or obstructing officers, including 123 accused of using a deadly or dangerous weapon to injure an officer.
More than 700 people have so far pleaded guilty to federal charges, including more than 210 who have pleaded guilty to felonies, according to the Justice Department.
