BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho woman who was found guilty for her role in the Jan. 6, 2021 United States Capitol riot was sentenced to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release on Wednesday, the Department of Justice said.
Yvonne St Cyr, 55, told her Facebook live viewers directly after her sentencing in Washington D.C, "I just got sentenced to 30 months of confinement" as well as 36 months of probation, $2,000 in restitution and a $1,000 fine. The Department of Justice originally asked for 33 months in prison. She will have a date set in six weeks to report to prison, St Cyr said in the video.
"I understood what Jesus felt like when he was in the garden of Gethsemane praying and felt so alone," St Cyr said, apparently referring to the four Gospels that said Jesus Christ prayed in Gethsemane, a Biblical site in Jerusalem, before his crucifixion.
St Cyr said in a video posted to her Facebook the day before her sentencing that January 6th was a peaceful event; however, five people died as a direct result. She participated in the event as a supporter of former President Donald Trump.
In her sentencing, St Cyr also wanted to read a seven-page statement to U.S. District Judge John Bates, but he cut her off after the fifth page and told her she only had one minute left to continue.
"It obviously irritated him," she said. St Cyr also said the prosecutors "wanted to paint their little narrative and their little lie."
Further in her video, she said after U.S. President Joe Biden was elected, she stopped filing her taxes.
"We went to war for this and so we quit filing. We haven't filed since 2019," St Cyr said.
NBC reported that during the sentencing, St Cyr -- a military veteran -- said she took an oath to defend the Constitution and repeated her claims that the last presidential election was stolen.
St Cyr was found guilty in March of obstructing and interfering with police during a civil disorder -- a felony -- entering and remaining in a restricted building, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building, disorderly conduct in a capitol building and parading / demonstrating in a capitol building.
FBI Special Agent Matthew Gano wrote in a criminal complaint that St Cyr went into the Capitol during the riot sometime between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Jan. 6 and live-streamed video from inside the Capitol, where she was photographed inside the Senators Hideaway Office, as previously reported by KTVB.
In a live video that appears to have been taken in St Cyr's hotel room following the riot, she talks about breaching the Capitol and references the QAnon conspiracy theory, which claims that the government is controlled by a secret cabal of Satan-worshiping Democrats and elites who sexually assault children and drink their blood. She also repeated unfounded claims that President Joe Biden's victory was the result of fraud.
On Tuesday, US prosecutors filed a supplement sentencing memorandum displaying St Cyr's Facebook posts leading up to her sentencing in which she said she never pushed her way through barricades at the Capitol, she was just pushed into them. However, US attorneys said she repeatedly pushed herself against the barricades and encouraged others to do the same.
"These people will someday be held accountable for all their lies!" she wrote on Sept. 6.
In a video posted before her sentencing, she said even if she does end up in federal custody, “prison will give me plenty of time to write a book.”
Prosecutors said in their memorandum that as St Cyr's posts progressed over the next week, "the basis set forth the government’s prior sentencing recommendation have only grown more salient and troubling over the past two weeks."
Her husband, Troy St. Cyr, wrote a letter of support dated Sept. 11 -- he said in the letter "Our President said come to DC on Jan 6 for the stop the steal rally, so we packed up and went to answer the call."
"She harmed no one, didn't break anything and caused no destruction or damage to another human being or any government property," he wrote. "She had no intent to commit any crimes, much less the unconstitutional laws that you all have created to take our freedoms away."
Her husband also said his wife remains innocent of the Jan. 6 crimes.
"The truth is out there, our country is at a tipping point. Once tipped the avalanche of truth will be out there for all Americans to see. You will have to make your own choice on what side of history you choose to be on. I hope you will be on the right side of history because this decision will have consequences either way," Troy St Cyr wrote.
St Cyr's daughter, Kayla Rodriguez, also submitted a support letter. She said her mother's involvement with the criminal justice system has impacted their family in a negative way.
"My mom Yvonne is one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. She is not afraid to stand up for what she believes in, which is one of my most favorite things about her," Rodriguez wrote. "She is willing to help anyone and everyone in any way she can. Including me and being there for me as a newly single mother just trying to raise a newborn."
In a press release Wednesday, the DOJ said St Cyr's actions "disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the presidential election."
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