A California architect who was in the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6 has received a sentence of three years' probation and community service. Prosecutors said Valerie Elaine Ehrke did not damage property or take part in violence that day.
September 17, 2021 GMT
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — A federal judge who sentenced a California architect on Friday to probation for her role in the Capitol riot stressed that the Jan. 6 insurrection “represented a threat to democracy” and continues to resonate “in sad and unfortunate ways.” Justice Department prosecutors said they recommended a probationary sentence for Ehrke because she was inside the Capitol for about one minute, only stepped about 15 feet into the building and didn’t engage in any violence or property destruction. Friedman said Ehrke’s role in the insurrection was “about as minimal as it gets.”More than 600 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the riot. Ehrke is one of about 70 defendants who have pleaded guilty to riot-related charges.
Over 40 other Capitol riot defendants have pleaded guilty to the same misdemeanor offense, which carries a maximum sentence of 6 months imprisonment and a $5,000 fine.“I did not have the depth of experience to understand that I needed to get out of there or stay away,” she said. Ehrke recorded and uploaded videos to Facebook as she walked to the Capitol, including one with a caption that said she was heading to the “breached” building. Ehrke would have heard an alarm sounding throughout the Capitol when she entered. She was stopped at the back of a crowd of people when police started pushing them back through a hallway and out of the building through a door.
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