- A married couple pleaded guilty to crimes related to their participating in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol supporters of then-President Donald Trump.
- Joshua and Jessica Bustle, who live in Bristol, Virginia, agreed to plead to a charge of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building in exchange for prosecutors agreeing to drop three other charges.
- Jessica called then-Vice President Mike Pence a "traitor" and bragged "We stormed the Capitol" in a Facebook post.
The couple that invades the U.S. Capitol together gets convicted together.
A married couple on Monday pleaded guilty to crimes related to their participating in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol supporters of then-President Donald Trump.
Joshua and Jessica Bustle, who live in Bristol, Virginia, agreed to plead in U.S. District Court in Washington to a charge of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building in exchange for prosecutors agreeing to drop three other charges.
The couple, who face a maximum possible sentence of six months in jail, are the third and fourth defendants to plead guilty to Capitol riot-related charges.
More than 450 other people are still facing charges in related cases.
CNBC Politics
Read more of CNBC's politics coverage:
- Israel votes in new government amid parliament chaos, ending Netanyahu’s 12-year rule
- Biden and Erdogan meet as U.S. sanctions hang over Turkey following Russian missile deal
- Justice Department to step up enforcement of voting rights protections, Attorney General Garland says
Before the riot, Jessica Bustle had written in a Facebook post, "We don't win this thing sitting on the sidelines. Excited to stand for truth with my fellow patriots and freedom fighters in D.C. today."
After the riot, Jessica wrote on Facebook: "We need a Revolution! We can accept an honest and fair election but this is NOT fair and patriots don't want to see their country brought into communism and destroyed over a lie."
Jessica also called then-Vice President Mike Pence a "traitor" and bragged "We stormed the Capitol" in another post.
The riot began after Trump urged supporters at a rally outside the White House to march to the Capitol, where Congress was meeting in a joint session to confirm the Electoral College victory of President Joe Biden.
Pence was presiding over the proceedings when hundreds of Trump backers stormed the Capitol complex and invaded the halls of Congress.
Data records from cell phones associated with the Bustles indicated they were in the Capitol Rotunda for about 20 minutes.
Surveillance video from the inside of the Capitol showed the couple entering the building. Jessica Bustle is seen on that video holding up a sign that said, "VACCINE INJURY is the REAL PANDEMIC" on one side, and and "MANDATORY MEDICAL PROCEDURES have NO Place in a FREE Society," according to court documents.
Joshua Bustle, who appeared to record his wife on a cell phone during their time in the Rotunda, "carried a similar sign," according to court documents.
During the couple's plea hearing on Monday, Jessica Bustle said, "I wanted to say I'm admitting [guilt] to the things that I said and that I'm sorry for saying them, but also that there were other things that were said in those posts that were kind, like 'pray for America' that weren't included" in the court filings.
Trump for months has falsely claimed to have beaten Biden in the presidential election.
Source: Read Full Article