Trump supporter who took private jet to Jan. 6 riot and called Capitol police 'traitors' pleads guilty to federal misdemeanor

Advertisement
Trump supporter who took private jet to Jan. 6 riot and called Capitol police 'traitors' pleads guilty to federal misdemeanor
Texas realtor Katherine Schwab pleaded guilty to disruptive or disorderly conduct in a restricted building.The Department of Justice
  • Katherine Schwab traveled to Washington, DC, by private jet before the Jan. 6 riot, prosecutors said.
  • Video footage shows the Texas realtor calling Capitol police "traitors," per prosecutors.
Advertisement

A Trump supporter who flew to Washington DC on a private jet before participating in the Capitol riot pleaded guilty on Thursday to disruptive or disorderly conduct in a restricted building, a Department of Justice filing shows.

Katherine Schwab, a real-estate agent from Texas, traveled to the Capitol with Jason Hyland and Jenna Ryan after accepting an invitation from Hyland to travel to DC on his private jet, Schwab's criminal complaint says.

Ryan, who notoriously said she would escape jail because she is white and blond, was earlier sentenced to 60 days behind bars after pleading guilty to a single federal misdemeanor charge of parading in a Capitol building. Hyland was earlier sentenced to seven days in jail after pleading guilty to the same single charge.

The criminal complaint for Schwab features social media posts showing pictures of her on Hyland's jet, and later, making references to being inside the Capitol Building. The complaint also features screenshots of surveillance footage showing Schwab inside the Capitol Building, per prosecutors.

Prosecutors said a video filmed by Ryan shows Schwab saying: "I went into the fucking Capitol…I made my movement. I stood my ground."

Advertisement

Ryan also broadcast a Facebook Live stream in which she said Schwab was the "first one, out of all of us, to go through the Capitol [doors]," prosecutors said.

In the video, Schwab says "we went back in because" Vice President Mike "Pence fucked us over."

At the time, Pence was presiding over the certification of the 2020 election results, despite pressure from then-president Donald Trump to reject the count.

According to prosecutors, videos recovered from Hyland's and Schwab's phones show Schwab calling Capitol police "traitors," "sheep," and "pathetic" as they push a crowd away from the exterior of the Capitol Building.

Before leaving the Capitol grounds, Schwab joined other members of the crowd in kicking and attacking media equipment, prosecutors said.

Advertisement

US District Judge Christopher R. Cooper set Schwab's sentencing for December 9 this year.

So far, at least 895 people have been charged in connection with the insurrection, according to Insider's database.

{{}}