Related Video: Montoni leaves the federal courthouse in Tampa after her first appearance
LAKELAND, Fla. (WFLA) — A Lakeland woman pleaded guilty on Monday to a charge connected to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Corinne Montoni, 33, was charged with obstruction of an official proceeding, entering a restricted building and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds after supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the building in an attempt to stop the certification of votes in the 2020 presidential election.
Montoni pleaded guilty to the disorderly conduct charge in the U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. on Monday as part of a plea deal.
An online tip pointed FBI agents to Montoni’s social media pages, where they discovered she made several incriminating posts that day. Investigators determined she illegally entered the building through a busted door on the west side of the building, near the entrance to the Senate wing, according to court documents.
“We’re in the Capitol ’cause this is our house,” Montoni said in a video posted to Instagram. “We paid for this, and they’re trying to steal it from us. Let’s go!”
Prosecutors said Montoni was part of a crowd that pushed back against Capitol Police officers in an attempt to make it further into the building. In another video, she is heard telling other rioters to “Push back! Push back!” according to a release from the Department of Justice.
Montoni was accused of leaving the Capitol after about ten minutes and then re-entering the building. Posts to her Parler account included the following statements, according to the DOJ: “WE BREACHED THE CAPITOL OMG“; “Insurrection is coming. Hold the line. Stay vigilant.”; “Storming the Capitol to take back our country from traitors! This is OUR HOUSEEEE!”; and “Here’s a pretty little view form inside the Capitol at our traitor DC police, with a smashed window.”
In a Facebook post, Montoni said, “We are DONE with these traitors. Today, we showed them how done we are. The Capitol building belongs to Us, we the people. This is our house… We broke a few windows, sure but we are a peaceful protest occupying the people’s property.”
Montoni vowed to return to the Capitol on Inauguration Day with other Trump supporters, “letting the world know we REJECT progressive liberalism.” She faces up to five years in prison for the felony civil disorder charge and will learn her fate during her sentencing, which is scheduled for Sept. 28.
