LA County Woman Arrested In Jan. 6 Capitol Attack
LOS ANGELES, CA — A Northridge woman was arrested Wednesday in connection with her role in in the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection, according to the Department of Justice.
Kayla Reifschneider, 27, faces a slew of felony and misdemeanor charges outlined in an arrest warrant that describes her destroying property, threatening journalists and celebrating attacks on police officers.
Reifschneider, 27, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with a felony offense of obstruction of an official proceeding and several misdemeanor offenses, including entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, and acts of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
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According to the complaint, Reifschneider was a member of the Telegram online chat group PATRIOTS45 MAGA Gang that planned to travel to Washington, D.C., to support then-President Donald Trump and protest the election results. Toward that end, she discussed providing another protestor with a stun gun and pepper spray ahead of the riot, according to federal prosecutors.
According to the arrest warrant, Reifschneider shared with the group a screenshot of a Tweet, that read, “If you’re in D.C. on January 6th, STAY HOME! The domestic terrorists (Boogaloos, Prod Boys, etc.) are planning to break into federal buildings, cause violence against law enforcement, burn down buildings, and even try to shoot up federal employees and lawmakers. STAY HOME!!!!!!!!”
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Reifschneider added, “Lmfaooo. What a l[os]er.”
Another user replied, “Real Trump supporters are looking to arrest traitors … not attack buildings lol,” court papers show.
“Exactly. We arent antifa and blm. We have an actual mission,” Reifschneider replied, according to investigators.
The arrest warrant cited video footage from the riot purportedly showing Reifschneider’s violent conduct.
According to federal prosecutors, the video shows Reifschneider on the Upper West Terrace, yelling obscenities at police before joining a group of rioters on the east side of the Capitol where members of the media had set up. The journalists were behind bike racks to separate themselves from the crowd.
The video shows Reifschneider yelling at the media and climbing over a small wall separating them as they were forced to flee and abandon their equipment, according to the justice department.
According to the justice department, “Reifschneider yells, ‘Get rid of it, b—. That’s right, we’re throwing your f—ing s—.’ She is then seen spitting in the direction of the media and yelling, ‘mother f—! F— you! That’s spit, b—’! Get f— COVID!’ She is then seen approaching, lifting, and throwing a helmet in the direction of another individual. Moments later, Reifschneider is seen approaching a camera on the ground and stepping on it with her foot. She then leans down, lifts the camera, and throws it back to the ground. Reifschneider then yells, ‘It shows my f— anger’ and ‘F— you!’
“In another open-source video, capturing the following moments, Reifschneider celebrates. She raises a middle finger and yells, ‘F— you! It’s been four years I’ve been wanting to do this!'”
According to prosecutors, that same day, Reifschneider sent a text stating, “Time to show them who they should be afraid of. Curfew at 6. We will not comply.”
The person wrote back the next morning, “So they beat the crap out of the police?”
Reifschneider responded, “I definitely saw one getting help. Limping. We f—ed them up worse than antifa and blm. Lmao,” according to the arrest warrant.
According to the criminal complaint, Reifschneider’s alleged actions disrupted a joint session of Congress convened to count the electoral votes in the 2020 presidential election.
In the three years since the Capitol attack, more than 1,358 people have been charged in connection with the Capitol breach, including 486 defendants charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
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