Capitol rioter seen lugging ‘members only’ sign on Jan. 6 pleads guilty

A rioter who was seen lugging a congressional “members only” sign inside the Capitol on Jan. 6 pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge on Monday.

Gracyn Dawn Courtright, who was 23 years old at the time of her arrest, pleaded guilty to knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds, according to The Associated Press.

She was also charged with disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building and in a Capitol building; parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building; and theft of government property at the time of her arrest, but those counts were dropped in a plea agreement she entered into with prosecutors.

Courtright, who was arrested on Jan. 19, is now facing up to six months in prison and a $9,500 fine, the AP reported. She will be sentenced on Nov. 16 and is currently free on a personal recognizance bond.

Courtright’s FBI affidavit features photos from her now-deleted Instagram account that show her in Washington, D.C., and outside the Capitol. She is wearing a beanie with yellow detailing, a black puffer jacket, light pink socks and a black fanny pack.

In one photo posted on Instagram that appears to have been taken outside the Capitol, Courtright wrote “can’t wait to tell my grandkids I was here!”

In surveillance footage reviewed by Capitol Police, Courtright was seen walking up the steps near the Senate chamber carrying a sign that said “members only,” according to the affidavit. A law enforcement officer then reportedly took the sign away from her, and she left the building.

The affidavit also includes a screenshot of a direct message conversation between Courtright and another individual who saw a video of Courtright in the building. Courtright admitted to being inside the Capitol on Jan. 6 and entering the Senate chamber during that conversation.

“You were there???” the unidentified Instagram user wrote to Courtright.

“Yes it wasn’t violent like the news said I took pictures all in the building, I never saw the violence I guess I was lucky,” she responded, adding “The cops like let’s us walk in.”

When the unidentified user said that was “embarrassing,” Courtright wrote back “I walked into the chamber like the senate where the desks are,” “it’s history idc” and “I thought it was cool.”

She later said “I’m not embarrassed so you shouldn’t be.”

Courtright was a mathematical economics major at the University of Kentucky at the time of the Capitol riot. She reportedly told the judge on Monday that she withdrew from school.

She is set to appear before a college board in December, according to the AP.

More than 570 individuals have been arrested in almost all 50 states for crimes related to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol in the seven months since the breach, the Department of Justice revealed last week.

More than 170 of those individuals have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.