Indiana woman gets probation in first sentence stemming from Jan. 6 riot

An Indiana woman was sentenced to probation on Wednesday, the first sentencing recommendation connected to the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Anna Morgan-Lloyd, 49, pleaded guilty to demonstrating in the Capitol building, prompting federal prosecutors to drop three other misdemeanor charges. She was then ordered by the court to pay a $500 fine and complete 40 hours of community service in addition to three years of probation, according to NBC News.

Morgan-Lloyd reportedly traveled to Washington at the beginning of the year with a friend to attend former President Trump’s “Save America” rally and allegedly took part in the insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

“I would just like to apologize to the court, the American people, and my family,” she said in court, according to the news outlet. “I went there to show support for President Trump peacefully, and I’m ashamed that it became a savage display of violence.”

According to prosecutors, Morgan-Lloyd spent nearly 10 minutes inside of the Capitol building on Jan. 6, but did not cause any damage to property or act violently.

Her friend, Dona Sue Bissey, is also facing misdemeanor charges in connection to her actions on Jan. 6, but she has not entered a plea, NBC News reported.

In the days immediately following the attack on the Capitol, Morgan-Lloyd reportedly posted statements to social media touting her experience. 

“It was a day I’ll remember forever. I’m proud that I was part of it!” she wrote in one post, according to court documents. 

“That was the most exciting day of my life,” she added in another.

Prosecutors said that Morgan-Lloyd’s initial reaction to the events of that day “appears to have been tempered by a realization of the consequences of her actions.”

The charge of illegally demonstrating in the Capitol, which would typically carry a maximum penalty of six months in jail, was reportedly lessened due to her cooperation with investigators and her admission of responsibility and remorse.

“Though she supported the past president in January, she totally accepts President Biden as the leader of our country,” her lawyer Heather Shaner said, according to NBC News.

Morgan-Lloyd told the judge she watched “Schindler’s List” and “Just Mercy” at her lawyer’s recommendation and learned from those films “what life is like for others in our country.”