NJ Mom Charged In Jan. 6 Capitol Riot Spared Prison – Patch.com

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — An Essex County mother who proudly posed for photos on Jan. 6 during the Capitol Riot and declared that “civil war was coming” in the days after has avoided prison time, multiple news outlets confirm.

Instead, a federal judge ruled Tuesday that Rasha Abual-Ragheb, 41, of Fairfield will spend two months in home detention followed by 36 months of probation.

In addition, she’ll have to pay a $500 fine. Prosecutors had hoped Abual-Ragheb would receive a 30-day jail sentence.

“God bless you, and God bless the United States,” she told the judge.

According to the Daily Mail, the judge, who admitted her social media posts were troubling, reasoned that the single mother of two “showed up in a tutu” on Jan. 6, and not military gear like so many others.

Her defense lawyer also argued that his client was only inside the Capitol for about two minutes and did not cause any damage or commit any acts of violence, Insider.com reported.

He added that his client’s path to the Capitol came from the belief that her vote was not counted in the 2020 general election.

“I never intended to cause any harm or violence,” an emotionally Abual-Ragheb said to the judge during the hearing.

Prior to sentencing, Abual-Ragheb sobbed and told the judge that it would be a hardship on her two school-age children, who she’s had to pull out of class and home school due to bullying following her arrest, NJ.com reported.

Days after the Capitol Riot, several news outlets reported that Abual-Ragheb posted on social media, “Civil War is coming and I will be happy to be a part of it.” She has since deleted the posts.

According to court records, on Jan. 7th, a witness reported to the FBI Philadelphia Division that Rasha Abual-Ragheb’s Facebook page was seen showing Abual-Ragheb at the protest in Washington, DC.

A post made by Abual-Ragheb on the Facebook page revealed she checked into the Kimpton George Hotel, according to authorities.

In another Facebook post, Abual-Ragheb posted the following, authorities said:

“Just left Dc… I got tear gas, paper spray!!! But I was part of the history. We the people won’t take it anymore. Antifa were between us, i and other MAGA people told Dc police, get that Antifa they didn’t do anything. He had black metal chair… The police would order to use full force on us from the beginning when we start marching to the capital, the use teargas and pepper spray and rubber bullet, they shot the woman that was standing peacefully without a a weapon, they hit women’s kids. They hit people with the pat metal one.”

On Jan. 6th, another source encountered a woman on the sidewalk of the Kimpton George Hotel in Washington D.C. dressed in distinct clothing and making a scene, authorities said.

The woman on the sidewalk identified herself as “Rasha,” admitted to being in the US Capitol, and showed the witness a picture of herself in the building, authorities said.

Nearly a year before before the Capitol Riot, in Nov. 2020, FBI agents said they found a Facebook account belonging to the Essex County woman where she participated in Facebook and Telegram group chats involving the New Jersey chapter of the American Patriot 3%.

In the Facebook chat, authorities said she advised “a revolution will start not by standing by but by standing up.” In addition, she advised civil war is coming and they need to show support, and “rise up and fight for our Constitution.”

During the interview with the FBI, she advised agents that she was a Trump supporter, attended Trump rallies, and was blocked from making posts on Facebook and Twitter for pro-Trump postings.

Abual- Ragheb was born in Lebanon and fled to Jordan when she was a child due to the civil war there. She’s lived in the United States for more than 20 years, according to court records.