A 27-year-old woman from Northridge has been taken into custody on federal felony and misdemeanor charges for her alleged involvement in the breach of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Kayla Reifschneider faces multiple charges, including a felony offense of obstruction of an official proceeding and several misdemeanor charges. These misdemeanors include entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, and acts of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings. The charges were filed against Reifschneider in a criminal complaint in the District of Columbia, as reported by the United States Department of Justice.
Reifschneider had his first court appearances scheduled for Wednesday in downtown Los Angeles.
According to court documents, Reifschneider, a member of the Telegram online chat group Patriots 45, which aimed to support then-President Donald Trump and discuss alleged election fraud, made a trip from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. prior to January 6, 2021.
Reifschneider responded to the comment by stating, “Exactly. We are not associated with antifa and blm. We have a genuine mission.”
Furthermore, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ), she engaged in discussions about arranging to supply the same individual with weapons, which included a stun gun and pepper spray, with the intention of transporting them to Washington DC.
According to court documents, Reifschneider can be seen in publicly available video footage from January 6, 2021, shouting obscenities at the police while on the Upper West Terrace. Afterward, she moved to the east side of the Capitol building, where she joined a crowd of rioters that had gathered near the media area.
According to the documents, the media was positioned behind bike racks, creating a physical barrier between them and the crowd. A video sourced from an open platform reportedly captures Reifschneider shouting at the members in this particular area.
According to federal prosecutors, after the crowd knocked over and removed the bike racks, the accused individual allegedly climbed over a small wall that separated them from the media members. As the crowd fled and their equipment was destroyed, the accused individual was seen cheering, shouting expletives, and spitting in their direction.
According to the Department of Justice, Reifschneider’s purported actions, along with those of others, caused significant disruption during a joint session of Congress. This session was held to determine and tally the electoral votes for the 2020 presidential election.
It’s been 38 months since January 6, 2021, and investigators have arrested a total of 1,358 individuals across all 50 states as part of the extensive and ongoing investigation.
