A Pennsylvania woman who participated in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 is asking prosecutors to give her probation instead of the jail term they’re seeking, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports.
Jennifer Heinl, 44, who lost her job and her marriage due to her actions, is due to be sentenced next week for demonstrating in a Capitol building, which is a misdemeanor, after she pleaded guilty in November.
Federal prosecutors wanted a sentence of two weeks in jail and three years of probation for breaching the Capitol building with the pro-Trump mob that day. Prosecutors say she was inside the building for 47 minutes while taking video, lied to an FBI agent, and showed no remorse during an interview with federal agents.
Heinl’s lawyer, Martin Dietz, is requesting probation, saying her client is “extremely remorseful, embarrassed and ashamed” for participating in what he called an “unjustifiable attack on America,” adding she had never even gotten a traffic ticket before and takes care of her two sons who have health issues.
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Dietz argued Heinl already suffered for her actions. Her marriage to a police officer fell apart after he had asked her not to go to D.C. on Jan. 6, but she went anyway. The two are finalizing a divorce.
“Ms. Heinl made a very serious and ill-advised error in judgment when she entered the U.S. Capitol along with hundreds of other persons,” he said. “She is not, however, a bad person.”
Read the full report at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.