A federal jury delivered a guilty verdict against Rebecca Lavrenz, a 71-year-old Colorado woman, in connection to her role in breaching the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Lavrenz, who is known on social media as the “J6 Praying Grandma,” faced four misdemeanor charges, including entering and remaining in a restricted building, disorderly conduct, and parading or picketing in the Capitol.
Lavrenz’s arrest occurred on December 19, 2022, in Denver, following tips received by the FBI implicating her involvement in the Capitol breach. During her interview with federal authorities, Lavrenz admitted to spending approximately 10 minutes inside the Capitol building. Surveillance footage corroborated her account, showing Lavrenz in a red scarf among the crowd of protestors.
Lavrenz insists that she was only at the Capitol to pray, telling The Denver Gazette,
The whole reason I went to the Capitol was to pray. I didn’t get into this for myself, I was there to stand up for my country. God led me to go there and into the building to stand up for my First Amendment rights to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Lavrenz provided testimony for five hours on Monday, following which the jury commenced deliberations at 4:45 p.m., adjourned at 5:30 p.m., and resumed deliberations throughout Tuesday, Wednesday, and most of Thursday. Lavrenz mentioned that she was called back multiple times to clarify certain points. The final verdict was announced late Thursday afternoon after nearly 26 hours of deliberation by the 12-member jury.
Lavrenz said:
The deliberation was good because obviously at least one person on the jury was fighting for me, and many people have been convicted in the first hour.
Throughout the trial, Lavrenz maintained that she had no regrets about her actions and believed she was on a mission from God. Her defense attorney, Roger Roots, expressed disappointment with the verdict, stating that they intend to appeal the convictions.
Roots told The Colorado Sun:
Unfortunately, the Court instructed the jury that the First Amendment provided no defense whatsoever for Rebecca at the U.S. Capitol. We believe the instructions were improper and we intend to appeal her convictions. We are very disappointed in the verdict.
Lavrenz is facing a sentence of up to a year in prison, along with fines exceeding $200,000.
On Friday, former President Donald Trump wrote about Lavrenz on Truth Social, calling her “peaceful” and a “patriot,” who had been “unfairly targeted” by Biden’s Justice Department. The presumptive GOP presidential nominee, who was attending a record-breaking fundraiser for the Trump 47 Committee on the same day, shared a link to a fundraiser for Lavrenz.
Trump wrote:
Rebecca Lavrenz, also known as the “J6 Praying Grandma,” has been unfairly targeted by Crooked Joe Biden’s DOJ, and now faces up to 1 YEAR in prison for peacefully walking around the Capitol, and praying for our Failing Nation on January 6th!
Rebecca is a 72-year-old Grandmother and Small Business Owner from Colorado, and now she is one of Joe Biden’s J6 HOSTAGES!!! Crooked Joe Biden spends more time prosecuting Patriots like Rebecca, AND ME, than Violent Criminals, Thugs, Murderers, and ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS who are destroying our Country.
THIS IS WHAT WE ARE UP AGAINST. MAGA2024!
Before Trump shared the fundraising link, Lavrenz had raised nearly $32,000 as of Thursday to help with her legal expenses. Her sentencing is scheduled for August 12.
