Ross woman pleads guilty to U.S. Capitol riot charge

A Ross woman charged with participating in rioting at the U.S. Capitol pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Washington.

Jennifer Heinl, 44, will be sentenced March 22 on a single count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. The count is a misdemeanor and carries a maximum penalty of six months incarceration. Heinl has no criminal history.

Court paperwork filed Tuesday said Heinl arrived in Washington on Jan. 5. She went to a rally at the Ellipse where she encountered Kenneth Grayson, who she had previously met. Heinl was linked to the Jan. 6 attack through Grayson.

Investigators said that following the rally, Heinl walked toward the Capitol Building, which she entered at approximately 2:20 p.m.

“As Heinl approached the U.S. Capitol Building, an alarm was sounding from inside … and law enforcement officers were attempting to stop individuals from entering the building,” the statement said.

Two minutes after she entered, Heinl was seen in the Crypt area and later at the Rotunda, where she was recorded on security video talking to Grayson.

“The defendant knew at the time she entered the U.S. Capitol Building that she did not have permission to enter the building, and the defendant paraded, demonstrated or picketed,” the statement said.

When U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan asked Heinl during her plea hearing via video conference why she was pleading guilty, she told him she just wanted to get the case over with.

Defense attorney Marty Dietz told the court there is no doubt his client was there.

The hesitation in her answer, he said, was the phrasing of the charge, which talks about “parading, picketing and demonstrating.”

“It’s crystal clear what she did,” Dietz said. “She was there and shouldn’t have been.”

As part of the plea agreement, Heinl agreed to pay $500 in restitution. The government said that the damage caused during the riot totaled just under $1.5 million.

The remaining counts against Heinl — entering a restricted building; disorderly conduct in a restricted building; and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds — will be dismissed at sentencing.