Texans arrested after U.S. Capitol insurgency

Federal prosecutors continue to charge participants in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, adding to dozens of arrests that took place in Washington D.C. that day, including several Texans.

Legal experts state that people who breached the Capitol could face a range of criminal charges, from disorderly conduct to seditious conspiracy, because “Presumably these people broke into Congress in order to stop or intimidate or interfere with the counting of the Electoral College certification, a fundamental feature of the peaceful transition of power in the United States.”

Some could face fines and jail time for misdemeanors, while others could face up to 20 years in prison for felony and sedition charges. Steven D'Antuono, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Washington office, told reporters that the bureau has received more than 100,000 photographic and video tips from members of the public in the wake of the riots.

The FBI continues to identify the people responsible for the attack that left five people dead and sent lawmakers and Vice President Mike Pence fleeing to shelter.

Jenna Ryan, 50 of Frisco, Texas, is a real estate agent who prosecutors say took a private jet to Washington D.C. for the Jan. 6 rally.

In a Twitter post she said, "It was one of the best days of my life." She also was pictured on a now-deleted Facebook live video saying, "Life or death, it doesn't matter. Here we go," as she approached the entrance to the Capitol.

She was arrested on Jan. 15 and charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and one count of disorderly conduct on Capitol Grounds.

Jenny Cudd from Midland, Texas was arrested on Jan. 13 on the charges of entering/remaining in restricted building or grounds; violent entry or disorderly conduct.

Cudd, a former candidate for mayor in Midland was wearing a Trump flag as a cape and posted a video saying, “We did break down

Nancy Pelosi’s office door.”

“I’m proud of everything I was a part of today,” Cudd stated in another video clip. “The government serves at the consent of the governed. Well, the governed are pissed off.”

Cudd also said after the riot, she had gotten several death threats at her florist shop, Becky’s Flowers, which is located in Midland, and hundreds of people had gone online and given the shop bad reviews. She has since shut down her Facebook page.

The Midland Reporter Telegram reported that Cudd said she didn't do anything unlawful. The newspaper also reported Cudd said, “When (Vice President) Pence betrayed us is when we decided to storm the Capitol.”

According to court records, the FBI tracked Cudd and a fellow protestor Eliel Rosa, whom she was later arrested with, as they walked through the Capitol rotunda on the day of the riot.

Eliel Rosa was also arrested on the same charges as Cudd.

The FBI tracked Rosa and Cudd's movements in the rotunda using surveillance footage. In an interview with the FBI two days after the riot, Rosa admitted he and Cudd entered the Capitol.

Larry Rendell Brock Jr., a 55-year-old retired USAF officer from the Dallas area, was arrested on Jan. 10 on charges of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

Brock was seen in photos in the Capitol wearing a green helmet, tactical vest and military patches. After he was identified in photos holding plastic zip-tie handcuffs, he gave an interview to The New Yorker. The story stated Brock said he had gone to D.C. to demonstrate peacefully after hearing the president ask his supporters to be there. In the days leading up to the siege of the Capitol, Brock had posted to social media about his plans to travel to Washington, D.C., to participate in Trump’s “Save America” rally.

A day after the riots, John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at Citizen Lab, at the University of Toronto’s Munk School, notified the F.B.I. that he suspected the man was retired Lt. Col. Larry Rendall Brock, Jr., a Texas-based Air Force Academy graduate and combat veteran.

In an interview, Brock confirmed that he was the man in the photos and videos. Brock now works for Hillwood Airways, a Texas-based private aviation company.

Joshua Ryan Lollar, from Spring, Texas, was arrested by FBI agents on federal charges relating to his role in the U.S. Capitol riot. Lollar admitted he was part of the mob, according to the FBI.

Like other suspects, Lollar posted selfies and videos bragging that he was breaching the Capitol and fighting with police, according to the FBI. A photo on his Facebook page shows a crowd wearing Trump gear crammed inside a hallway with the caption “Busting in.”

A 10-page court document details a long list of evidence against Lollar, primarily from his own social media accounts.

Lollar is charged with obstructing or impeding law enforcement officer during civil disorder, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, obstructing federally protected functions, knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, and impeding or disrupting official functions.

An unnamed Houston police officer has submitted his resignation after being accused of being part of the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol, according to HPD Chief Art Acevedo. Acevedo said he will likely face federal charges. The chief said he received a tip that one of his officers stormed the Capitol.

Acevedo said the department will release his name upon the conclusion of the joint ongoing criminal investigation with the FBI and Justice Department.

The news came on the heels of another federal investigation into Bexar County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Roxanne Mathai for her role during the Capitol riot, as the Texas Tribune reported.

Mathai posted a series of images on Facebook showing her draped in a Trump flag inside the Capitol, according to reports. “Not gonna lie… aside from my kids, this was, indeed, the best day of my life. And it’s not over yet,” Mathai wrote on Facebook.