‘J6 praying grandma’ avoids prison time and gets 6 months home confinement in Capitol riot case

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Colorado bed-and-breakfast operator who promotes herself online as the “J6 praying grandma” was sentenced on Monday to six months of home confinement in her Capitol riot case after the judge railed against “offensive” comments she has made about the criminal justice system.

Prosecutors had sought 10 months behind bars for Rebecca Lavrenz, 72, whose misdemeanor case has become a cause célèbre among conservatives critical of the Justice Department’s Jan. 6 prosecutions. Prosecutors accused her of “profiting off the celebrity of her conviction” with an slew of media appearances questioning the integrity of the court system and the jurors who convicted her.

Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui told Lavrenz that while hers is among the less serious Jan. 6 cases, “it’s still a grave offense.” Raising his voice at times, the judge sounded incredulous as he pressed her lawyers about her media comments denouncing the Jan. 6 prosecutions as “fake trials” and D.C. jurors as biased.

“That does nothing but reduce public confidence people have in the system,” Faruqui said.

Faruqui told Lavrenz he didn’t think sending her to jail “was going to help.” But he fined her $103,000, saying he needed to send a message that defendants cannot profit off their “egregious conduct.” He sentenced her to one year of probation, with the first six months in home confinement. During her home confinement, the judge ordered her to stay off the internet.

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