COLLINSVILLE, Va. – Another person from Southwest Virginia has been charged in connection with the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Jamie Lynn Ferguson, of Collinsville, was arrested on Wednesday and has been charged with the following four offenses:
- 18 U.S.C. § 1752(a)(1)-Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds
- 18 U.S.C. § 1752(a)(2)-Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds
- 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(D)-Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building
- 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(G)-Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building
On Jan. 14, 2021, the Department of the Air Force, Office of Special Investigations provided a report to the FBI that suggested Ferguson, a former member of the West Virginia National Guard, had unlawfully entered the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
In the investigative report, OSI provided a photograph of Ferguson, a review of her social media accounts and screenshots of surveillance footage claiming to show Ferguson inside the Capitol Rotunda on the same day rioters stormed the Capitol.
OSI also confirmed that Ferguson requested leave from Jan. 5 to Jan. 7 and was in Washington, D.C. on these dates.
The footage obtained from the U.S. Capitol Police appears to show Ferguson entering through the east front Rotunda doors to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 at about 2:42 p.m.
In the video, the subject, who is wearing a dark blue hooded sweatshirt with the “Trump Girl” in white text and carrying an olive green backpack, is seen in the Rotunda for about 50 minutes.
Below are screenshots from the surveillance video footage with the subject circled in yellow:
Agents also discovered several of Ferguson’s email and social media accounts, which include a Facebook account with the display name “Jamie Lynn” and unique identifier “afgurl77,″ according to the FBI.
Below you will find a screenshot of an article Jamie Lynn shared on Jan. 3, 2021, as stated in court documents.
Authorities say Jamie Lynn also tagged individuals in a post of a screenshot that read, “Trump wants to see you in DC” with three DC locations, dates, and times listed” on Jan. 3, 2021:
In addition, on Jan. 5, 2021, Jamie Lynn shared a post that was either private or deleted; a comment on the post stated “Be careful in DC,” according to the FBI.
On Jan. 14, 2021, Ferguson was interviewed by FBI agents in Charleston, which is where she lived previously. During the interview, agents retrieved photos and videos taken or recorded between January 5 and January 7, 2021, from Ferguson.
Court documents reveal that the photos provided by Ferguson matched the subject pictured in the video footage mentioned previously. The criminal complaint indicated that Ferguson is seen circled in yellow in the picture below:
Ultimately, authorities report that Ferguson admitted to the following in the interview:
- She went to the Trump rally at the White House with her parents from about 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
- She was wearing blue jeans and a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt with the words “Trump Girl” on the front
- After the rally, her parents left, and she went to the U.S. Capitol “believing that she would be able to see the President again”
- She entered the U.S. Capitol and stayed in the Rotunda area for about 40 minutes
Last Friday marked sixteen months since the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Since then, about 810 defendants have been arrested nationwide and 255 have been charged.
The other five Southwest Virginia individuals charged in connection with the events of Jan. 6 include Jacob Fracker, Thomas Robertson, Jeremy Groseclose, Joshua Haynes and Markus Maly.
On Thursday, Ferguson made her first court appearance before magistrate Judge Robert S. Ballou in Roanoke and has been released on personal recognizance.