Realtor who flew in private jet to storm Capitol Hill publicly begs Trump for pardon
Like the man who started it all, the right-wing fanatics who stormed Capitol Hill and disrupted the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral votes are experiencing consequence, possibly for the first time in their lives.
And they are not happy about it.
Incredibly, they seem genuinely taken aback by the notion that they will face repercussions for what is clearly an act of terrorism, which tells you all you need to know about the self-righteous privilege and undeserved sense of invulnerability that far too many white right-wingers carry themselves with in this country.
Nowhere is this more obvious than in the behavior of Jenna Ryan, a now-infamous realtor who flew herself on a private plane to participate in the Capitol Hill attack. During the storming itself, she filmed herself walking past broken windows and told the social media that “We are going to fucking go in here. Life or death, it doesn’t matter. Here we go — and then had the astounding nerve to plug her business. “Y’all know who to hire for your realtor. Jenna Ryan for your realtor.”
Afterward, Ryan crowed that “We just stormed the Capital. It was one of the best days of my life.”
But now that she’s been arrested by the FBI, Ryan is singing a very different tune. CBS Dallas-Fort Worth reporter Nicole Nielsen interviewed Jenna Ryan, who publicly begged President Trump to pardon her because she was just doing what he told her to do.
“I thought I was following my president, I thought I was following what were asked to do, he asked us to fly there, he asked us to be there, so I was doing what he asked us to do, so in my heart of hearts, do I feel like a criminal? No… I would like a pardon from the President of the United States. I’m facing a prison sentence! I think we all deserve a pardon. I think I do not deserve that. I think every person — from what I understand everyone is going to be arrested, and I think everyone deserves a pardon, and I would ask the President of the United States to give me a pardon.
.@CBSDFW exclusive, #JennaRyan tells @NicoleNielsen that she flew to D.C. and stormed the #Capitol, because President Trump told her to. No other reason. Ryan faces 2 federal charges, was arrested today and had her house searched by federal agents…(more). pic.twitter.com/XMov2D6aSy
— Doug Dunbar (@cbs11doug) January 16, 2021
#More In her *exclusive talk with @NicoleNielsen #JennaRyan minces no words. Facing 2 federal charges after entering the #Capitol last week, and foreshadowing on social she was going to storm the Capitol, the N TX realtor says President Trump, should issue her a pardon. pic.twitter.com/lIQiaEZezf
— Doug Dunbar (@cbs11doug) January 16, 2021
Her words make it very clear how much responsibility Donald Trump bears for inciting this attack on Capitol Hill and how deeply Trump’s disconnect from reality has infected his supporters. But no matter how severe, a case of the brain worms cannot excuse the appalling sense of self-entitlement and the hurt persecution complex that these people have nursed for likely their entire lives.
It is insane to see a white woman complaining that she might face charges for participating in a seditious attack on the United States Congress while knowing that just two days ago, a Black man was gunned down by Texas police on his own porch after his family called the cops for a mental health checkup.
Forget about a pardon. The Department of Justice needs to throw the book at these people and make an example out of each and every one of them. The very worst thing we could possibly do is confirm that crazy rich white people do not face consequences for anything in this country.
