WASHINGTON D.C. (LEX 18) — An affidavit seeking to charge a University of Kentucky student has been filed in connection to her participation in the riot at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Gracyn Dawn Courtright, identified as a senior, was featured in a recent story in the Kentucky Kernel, titled "'Infamy is just as good as fame': UK student among crowd that mobbed Capitol building."
Using social media posts from accounts belonging to Courtright, the article chronicled her actions inside the US Capitol.
In the complaint, the FBI references Courtright's posts within the Kentucky Kernel's article.
According to the filing agent, Capitol Police reviewed surveillance footage and said, "At 15:01 COURTRIGHT was seen on the second floor, walking up the steps near the Senate Chamber and room S214 carrying a 'Members Only' sign." Law enforcement reportedly took the sign back before Courtright left the Capitol.
In the criminal affidavit, the FBI says the article led agents to her father's home in West Virginia.
The complaint reads that her father told the FBI that Courtright went to DC to be at "the party" and stayed with friends. Courtright's father told agents that she was in the front of the crowd for President Trump's speech that preceded the storming of the capitol. Her father, who is an attorney, also said that if Courtright is charged, he would "assist to ensure she turned herself in to authorities."
The affidavit says there is probable cause to believe Courtright violated Title 18 U.S.C. § 1752(a)(1) and (2), which makes it a crime to (1) knowingly enter or remain in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority to do so; (2) knowingly, and with intent to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions, engage in disorderly or disruptive conduct in, or within such proximity to, any restricted building or grounds when, or so that, such conduct, in fact, impedes or disrupts the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions.
The affidavit also says there's probable cause to believe Courtright uttered loud or abusive language with the intent to impede a session of Congress and also that she violated the law by stealing a "thing of value of the United States" that is a "Members Only" sign.
