Thread by @19thnews

The insurrection marked the first time the U.S. Capitol had been breached in more than 200 years.

Court documents reviewed by The 19th begin to paint a picture of women’s roles and intentions during the insurrection.

Here’s what we found: 🧵 bit.ly/37TgDqT

The 19th’s @keaux_ reviewed more than 230 cases, and identified 28 women facing charges.

— 21 have been released while they wait for their cases to proceed
— 5 await behind bars
— 2 cases are pending bit.ly/37TgDqT

Some women spent months physically preparing for the day. Others told law enforcement they made spur-of-the-moment decisions.

Most of them documented their time at the Capitol via social media. bit.ly/37TgDqT

Most have seen the image of Eric Munchel, dubbed “zip-tie guy.”

His mother, Lisa Eisenhart, was there too, wielding plastic restraints while chanting, “Treason!”

FBI agents allege the mother and son stashed a bag of weapons outside the Capitol. bit.ly/37TgDqT

Einsenhart later told a British newspaper that she and her son went into the building as “observers.”

“I’d rather die a 57-year-old woman than live under oppression,” Eisenhart told The Sun Times. “I’d rather die and would rather fight.” bit.ly/37TgDqT

Court documents also show that co-workers, relatives and, in one case, an ex-partner sent social media screenshots to the FBI.

College senior Gracyn Courtright’s Instagram posts led to her arrest. “Can't wait to tell my grandkids I was here,” she wrote. bit.ly/37TgDqT

Many of those who were charged lack obvious ties to the far right, but joined with extremists and QAnon conspiracists to storm the Capitol.

@seywarddarby views the Trump era as a gateway into extremism. bit.ly/37TgDqT

Many people expected Trump’s controversial rhetoric to push conservative women across party lines, but experts in gender and extremism wondered why.

Exit polls show that White women supported Trump in majority numbers. bit.ly/3pYgxoi

A majority of White women have not voted for a Democratic presidential nominee since 1996 — before that, it was 1964. bit.ly/3pYgxoi

Some women facing charges connected to the insurrection say they took orders from Trump.

Jessica Watkins, an army vet and leader of the Oath Keepers, a far-right paramilitary group, trained “recruits.” She’s been charged for conspiring to hinder election certification.

Biden’s win signaled that Watkins’ “way of life” was over, she said — and she was ready to “fight, kill, and die” to preserve it, according to court documents.

But she needed a sign from Trump himself to act: “If Trump asks me to come, I will.” bit.ly/37TgDqT

Dawn Bancroft and Diana Santos-Smith told the FBI they had no prior plans to enter the Capitol.

“We were looking for Nancy [Pelosi] to shoot her in the friggin’ brain, but we didn’t find her," Bancroft said in a selfie video. bit.ly/37TgDqT

Some stormed the Capitol with family — uncles, spouses, siblings.

Others like Tammy Bronsburg went into the Capitol with a man she met on a chartered bus.

Texans Katherine Schwab and Jennifer Ryan met on a jet chartered just for the Stop the Steal rally. bit.ly/37TgDqT

Ryan was tagged in Facebook photos taken at a small airport in Texas. “We’re so excited!” the caption read.

Court documents also include various screenshots of Ryan posing, throwing up the peace sign in a Trump beanie. It was one of the best days of her life, she wrote later.

Far-right extremist movements are often characterized as misogynist and male-fueled.

Historian @kathleen_belew sees women as “the glue” in extremist spaces, making the violent parts possible and carrying it out themselves in some cases. bit.ly/37TgDqT

The Women of the Ku Klux Klan, founded on the heels of the suffrage movement, exemplifies how White women have been highly pivotal to disseminating extremist propaganda without history remembering their influence compared to the men’s group. bit.ly/3rBXd2b

Experts worry that people will see the January 6 insurrection as individualized, lone wolves.

Examining the role of women in extremism paints another story. bit.ly/37TgDqT

“Infamy is just as good as fame, either way I end up more known. XOXO,” Gracyn Courtright wrote on Instagram within hours of the riot.

“It’s history idc. I thought it was cool.”

More from @keaux_: bit.ly/37TgDqT