WASHINGTON, DC — A Florida woman received a one-year and a day prison sentence on Monday for her actions during the U.S. Capitol breach on January 6, 2021, which disrupted a joint session of Congress convened for electoral vote certification.
Leslie Gray, 57, of St. Cloud, Florida, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich to 12 months and a day in prison, followed by 12 months of supervised release. Gray was also ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution and a $100 special assessment. She pleaded guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding on June 1.
Court records indicate Gray traveled from Florida to Washington, D.C., in early January 2021 to protest the Electoral College certification. On the day of the breach, she joined crowds near a barricade on the East Front of the Capitol building. Despite police orders to stop, Gray advanced past the barricades onto the steps.
Gray live-streamed her activities on Facebook and was recorded encouraging others to resist police. She yelled phrases like “Push, push, push,” and “We’re taking the house back,” as she and other rioters moved toward the Capitol building.
Inside the Capitol, Gray filmed herself stating, “This is our house,” and “We have breached the halls of Congress.” She ignored police orders and continued deeper into the Capitol until forcibly removed by officers around 3:00 p.m.
After finally exiting the Capitol, Gray recorded yet another livestream video on the Capitol steps, where she stated: “We stormed the Capitol today… This revolution that in earnest began today. We will take back our country from the communists…American patriots stormed the Capitol today. I am an American patriot. I stormed the Capitol today.”
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Gray was arrested on June 15, 2022, in Florida.