Judge Finds Jan. 6 Defendant ‘Followed Then-President Trump’s Instructions’ to Breach the U.S. Capitol

AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File

A U.S. district judge found Danean MacAndrew guilty Tuesday on four counts related to her actions on January 6th, 2021 at the U.S. Capitol.

Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly’s ruling found that MacAndrew “followed then-President Trump’s instructions, which were in line with her stated desires.”

According to the ruling, MacAndrew was found guilty of “(1) Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1752(a)(1); (2) Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1752(a)(2); (3) Violent Entry and Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building, in violation of 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(D); and (4) Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building, in violation of 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(G).”

While the guilty verdict against MacAndrew is not surprising, Kollar-Kotelly’s explicit tying of then President Donald Trump to her actions that day is notable.

“After MacAndrew read then-President Trump’s announcement that he would hold a rally on January 6, 2021 that ‘w[ould] be wild,’ she made plans to attend, excited to hear then-President Trump speak and to protest against the 2020 Presidential Election,” Kollar-Kotelly found, adding:

And at the “Stop the Steal” rally, then-President Trump eponymously exhorted his supporters to, in fact, stop the steal by marching to the Capitol. Defendant marched to the Capitol where, she testified, she understood that only Congress had the power to fix the election’s outcome and that Congress was likely in session while she was around and in the Capitol. Having followed then-President Trump’s instructions, which were in line with her stated desires, the Court therefore finds that Defendant intended her presence to be disruptive to Congressional business.

MacAndrew made headlines upon her arrest as she claimed Capitol police “welcomed” her inside in a post to social media following the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

MacAndrew’s social media activity helped authorities to identify her.

“Investigators used cell phone tower data to identify Danean MacAndrew as one of hundreds of people present at the insurrection in Washington D.C. on Jan. 6, according to a sworn statement from an FBI agent. They then compared videos she posted to social media with surveillance footage recorded during the riot to confirm she was there,” noted the Orange County Register.