WASHINGTON (AP) — A Florida woman was sentenced Friday to six years in federal prison for attacking police officers during the uprising at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Audrey Ann Southard-Rumsey, 54, of Spring Hill, Fla., was convicted in federal court for the District of Columbia, court records show. She was convicted in January of seven felony counts, including three counts of assaulting, resisting or obstructing officers, three counts of civil disturbance and one count of obstructing official process.
Southard-Rumsey was arrested in June 2021.
According to court documents, Southard-Rumsey joined others in opposing Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory over then-President Donald Trump. A mob stormed the Capitol in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying the election results for Biden against Trump, a Republican, authorities said. Five people died in the violence.
According to the criminal complaint, Southard-Rumsey amplified calls for revolution on social media and worked with others on a statement calling for the abolition of the Democratic Party and the institution of a new government. On the day of the Capitol attack, Southard-Rumsey uploaded a photo of herself in the East Square to Facebook and then streamed a live video of herself, the complaint says.
Southard-Rumsey was part of a large group that broke through police barricades, prosecutors said. At one point, she grabbed an officer’s riot shield and then pushed an officer with a flagpole, causing him to fall and hit his head, officials said. She also joined a group that pushed officers down stairs, authorities said.
More than 1,000 people have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for alleged crimes related to the Capitol breach, officials say. More than 350 people have been charged with assaulting or obstructing law enforcement.