Insurrection Barbie who said she was ‘definitely not going to jail,’ is ... going to jail

Daily Kos Staff

Thursday November 04, 2021 · 10:22 AM PDT

2021/11/04 · 10:22

Insurgent Jenna Ryan, a real estate broker from Frisco, Texas, was sentenced today for her part in the Jan. 6 riot and insurrection on and inside of the Capitol in Washington, D.C. Ryan made news in part because of her personal, recorded performances on social media that both showed her breaking the law. The fact that she boasted of her wealth and privilege and flew into D.C. on a private jet in order to break the law added fuel to the social media fire.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper told Ryan—who two months after her arrest tweeted out that she was “definitely not going to jail. Sorry I have blonde hair white skin a great job a great future and I’m not going to jail. Sorry to rain on your hater parade. I did nothing wrong”—that she was indeed going to jail. Ryan Reilly, who has been in the courtroom for HuffPost, reports that Ryan received 60 days in prison. Ryan told Cooper that she “just shouldn’t tweet.” She probably shouldn’t.

Ryan, like many of the privileged Jan. 6 MAGA insurgents in court on charges of trespassing, obstruction, assault, and the like, tried to walk a line between saying they were remorseful while also saying they didn’t do anything wrong. It’s the tough kind bullshit nonapology that our court system does not afford even innocent young Black men. But Ryan when ran into the problem, her own narcissism and hubris made it almost impossible for her not to be made an example of.

Cooper’s sentence comes after Ryan did a number of news interviews, posted myriad videos, and wrote all kinds of declarations of her innocence, made weird attempts to pass blame to antifa for her own actions, and even attempted to publicly petition the disgrace of a person Donald Trump for a pardon. Ryan’s excuse for why she shouldn’t be taken at her word over the last many months, and should be given a lighter sentence like no jail time? She has an image to maintain on social media. True story.

"I try to balance my life and come across as happy and well adjusted. It’s all about image management.” — Jenna Ryan pic.twitter.com/bDX3bYS4pG
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) November 2, 2021

Written like a true narcissist. In fact, Ryan went on to argue that the “good actions” she took that day should be considered. Those good actions? Coming to D.C. to protest the elections. Okey dokey. As for why she said the whole weird racist and classist thing about being white and blonde and wealthy and deserving different justice than everyone else? Ryan says it was because she was feeling bullied online by people. These are the same people who were responding to her other privileged, hateful, and ignorant posts. Posts about chartering a private jet and flying with champagne to D.C. in order to break the law and overthrow our democracy. It was the blowback Ryan received that made her strike out and karate-kick her foot into her mouth, I guess.

Ryan also attempted a defense that she had no idea how violent and problematic the “protest” at the Capitol building had gotten. This claim, as the Department of Justice argued, was hooey: "The United States submits that no reasonable person … would consider people 'climbing the walls' to be an appropriate or peaceful means of entering the Capitol.” Ryan’s own videos, where she clearly understands the chaos going on around her and revels in it, made her a real target for justice.

Cooper told the court before sentencing her to 60 days: "I don't think you could have missed the fact that this was no peaceful protest … You were a cheerleader, you cheered it on." Cooper also remarked that because Ryan’s case had received quite a bit of public attention, it was important that his sentence showed the public how seriously Ryan’s behavior was being taken.

And just for irony theater:

Insurrection Barbie who said she was ‘definitely not going to jail,’ is ... going to jail

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