Pilot Mountain woman becomes first Triad resident convicted in Jan. 6 Capitol attack

[TexasTowelie]

A Pilot Mountain woman pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge Thursday in connection to the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot, according to court records. She is accused, along with her husband, of going into the U.S. Capitol without permission.

Virginia Marie Spencer, 38, became the first person from the Triad to be convicted on charges related to what happened on Jan. 6. On that day, hundreds of people stormed the U.S. Capitol, assaulting law-enforcement officers and causing $1.4 million in property damage, in an effort to stop the U.S. Congress from certifying the presidential election. They falsely believed that the election had been stolen from former president Donald Trump due to voter fraud. There is no evidence that Trump won the election.

Spencer appeared via Zoom in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. and pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. She also had been facing three other misdemeanor charges — entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building.

As part of the plea arrangement, federal prosecutors will request that those remaining charges be dismissed. Spencer could face a six-month prison sentence. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly scheduled Spencer’s sentencing for Jan. 7, 2022. Spencer will be out on pre-trial release until then.

Read more: https://journalnow.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/pilot-mountain-woman-becomes-first-triad-resident-convicted-in-jan-6-capitol-attack/article_aac2bfde-11a9-11ec-b0de-bb766ac6b1f4.html
(Winston-Salem Journal)

Virginia Spencer said, according to a criminal complaint, that when Trump talked about marching to the Capitol, she and her husband made their way to the building. She said she and her husband were forced into the building by the force of the crowd. They said they left within 15 minutes. Investigators said video footage does not show the Spencers actively looking for a way out. They also said video shows Virginia Spencer using her phone inside the building in what appeared to be an effort to record the events.

She also wore a gray knit cap, a black facemask and a jacket with the anti-gun-control message: “F*** gun control,” with the letters F and K formed by weapons positioned accordingly.