Capitol Rioter Wants Supreme Court to Save Her From Mouse-Infested Jail

A woman incarcerated for her role on January 6, 2021, is requesting that the U.S. Supreme Court intervene in her sentence, in part due to the purported mouse- and insect-infested jail where she is housed.

As of December 2023, 1,201 people hailing from all 50 states have been charged in connection with the riot at the U.S. Capitol and 719 have pleaded guilty. Of those charged, 119 have been convicted of all charges, three have been acquitted, and 64 of 728 sentenced have served some sort of prison time. Eight cases have been dismissed.

Defendants with January 6-related offenses received positive news in December when the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case submitted by Joseph Fischer, who appealed his felony charge of the "obstruction of an official proceeding." It is the same charge issued against hundreds of defendants allegedly involved in the Capitol attack, including former President Donald Trump.

Sandra Weyer, 60, of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, is serving a 14-month sentence after being convicted on June 6, 2023, on the same charge. Court documents show that she encouraged protesters to "hold your ground" and "don't retreat," eventually entering the Capitol through the East Rotunda door and remaining inside for about 11 minutes while she searched for her brother, whom she lost contact with amid the chaos.

She was also found guilty of four misdemeanor charges, including entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; disruptive conduct in a Capitol building; and parading, picketing, or demonstrating in a Capitol building. Her sentence includes 12 months of supervised release and an order to pay $2,000 in restitution and fines.

A 12-page motion submitted on December 31, 2023, or 45 days after Weyer started her prison sentence, requests early release on multiple grounds, including "distressing" living conditions while in confinement at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia, a facility that typically holds pretrial male and female inmates in addition to convicted individuals serving brief sentences.

"The section of the facility to which she has been assigned is experiencing a rodent infestation," the motion reads. "Regularly, Weyer finds mice and insects in her bedding. Maggots and weevils are a common sight in the food hall."

Weyer purportedly eats only salad and fruit and had not eaten in 40 hours the last time she was heard from on December 22.

Attorney Nicholas Smith, who represents Weyer and submitted the motion, declined to comment to Newsweek.

Smith argued that Weyer's case "is stronger than that of a defendant" like Joseph Fischer because she was not charged with violent or assaultive conduct.

"She entered the Capitol Building where she wandered around for approximately 11 minutes, searched for her brother, and did not enter the House or Senate Chamber or congressmember's offices," the motion continued. "No evidence showed Weyer taking any act to obstruct the joint session beyond the fact of her presence. By the time Weyer entered the Capitol, the Houses had already recessed."

It is also argued that Weyer's misdemeanor counts "were dictated not by the facts and circumstances of" her case but by Department of Justice guidelines aimed to impose the "total punishment" (of 14 months' incarceration) on every count to the extent allowable by law.

Smith claims Weyer was "handed a Sophie's choice" by either pleading guilty to an offense that would ultimately be reviewed by the Supreme Court, or to go to trial and risk punishment for a perceived lack of acceptance of responsibility.