Officials with the FBI arrested a husband and wife from North Carolina for taking part in the siege at the U.S. Capitol early last month.
Christopher Raphael Spencer and his wife Virginia Marie Spencer (also known as Jenny Spencer) were arrested and charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol Grounds, and obstruction of justice. Christopher was arrested January 19, while Jenny (as she’s referred to in the criminal complaint) was formally charged on Friday.
According to the charging document, Jenny told federal investigators that the two traveled to Washington, D.C. as part of a caravan organized by a Twitter personality known as “Dr. ENoCH.” She further claimed that she and her husband did not intend to enter the Capitol Complex, but found themselves unable to extricate themselves from a crowd that forced them inside.
“J. SPENCER explained that they then turned around, but couldn’t move because of the other people around them. She stated that they finally were able to push their way back further to where the pillar was. According to J. SPENCER, the crowd then started pushing,” the complaint stated. “She indicated she could not get away because she was afraid of being trampled. J. SPENCER stated that they went inside, through the doors, as everyone was pushing that direction. J. SPENCER then advised that they told each other something to the effect of ‘we gotta get out of here.’ She stated that she then saw the police officers in riot gear and went out the first exit. According to J. SPENCER, they weren’t in there for even 15 minutes.”
However, footage uncovered by investigators appeared to reveal a starkly different set of circumstances that led to the Spencers being inside the Capitol.
“[The Spencers] are among a large, tightly packed crowd of people apparently being held back by police officers. C. SPENCER says, ‘Wooh! We in this motherfucker!’ He then lowers his neck gaitor and says, ‘Bro, they stormed the Capitol, bro…pushed the cops out of the way, everything…took it over.’ Suddenly, the crowd, including the SPENCERs, rushes further forward into the building and starts chanting, ‘Who’s House? Our house!’ and ‘Stop the steal!’ repeatedly,” the complaint stated.
Another video shows Jenny Spencer speaking to a law enforcement officer and then returning to tell her husband about the conversation.
“She says, ‘(unintelligible) this is not only for us, this is for y’all too.’ C. SPENCER says, ‘What’d he say?’ [Jenny] says, ‘He said, I know but the points been made…the points been made. I said, well it’s bullshit. He said, I know it is, I know it is,’” the complaint stated.
The complaint concludes by pointing out that there is footage of the Spencers being inside the Capitol for over 20 minutes and at no point do they appear to be actively searching for an exit.
Read the full charging document below.
Virginia Marie Spencer Complaint & Sof by Law&Crime on Scribd
[image via criminal complaint]
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