(COLORADO) — On Thursday, April 4, a federal jury in Washington, DC, found Rebecca Lavrenz of Falcon guilty of four misdemeanor counts for her actions in the Jan. 6,2021 Capitol insurrection, according to the FBI Denver Field Office.
According to court documents, Lavrenz, 71, known on social media as “J6 Praying Grandma”, was charged with Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building, Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building, Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building, and Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building.
According to the documents provided by the FBI, agents conducted a consensual interview with Lavrenz on April 26, 2021, when she recounted traveling to Washington D.C. to attend the rally on the mall and followed the crowd to the U.S. Capitol building. As she approached the building from the east, she observed physical barriers indicating that the Capitol building grounds were a restricted area.
In the interview, Lavrenz informed the FBI that as the crowd grew, she observed people getting into physical confrontations with the police, pushing on the barriers as the police pushed back, and a woman getting injured in the exchange. When the crowd eventually pushed past the barriers, Larenz followed into the entrance of the Capitol.
Larenz stated that she spent approximately ten minutes inside the Capitol, describing her path as “roaming from the East center entrance to the Rotunda and back, exiting through the same door she entered.”
Lavrenz provided agents with the below photo, identifying herself as the only person facing the camera and wearing a red scarf and white hat.
According to the FBI, the U.S. Capitol is secured 24 hours a day by the U.S. Capitol Police, and only authorized people with appropriate identification are allowed access inside the building. On Jan. 6, 2021, the exterior plaza of the Capitol was also closed to members of the public.
According to the court documents, Lavrenz was found to have violated laws that make it a crime to knowingly enter or remain in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority to do so, and knowingly impeding or disrupting the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions.
Lavrenz currently awaits sentencing.
