Ellwood City woman pleads guilty to Jan. 6 charge
A Lawrence County woman is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 1 in federal court on a misdemeanor charge filed by the FBI for entering the U.S. Capitol Building during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot in Washington, D.C.
Julia Sizer, 39, of Ellwood City, pleaded guilty to a charge of parading, demonstrating or picketing the Capitol building, one of four charges the FBI filed against her following the attack on the Capitol. The charge carries a maximum sentence of six months imprisonment and a fine up to $5,000.
Sizer, who is free on unsecured bail, filed a motion through her attorney, Robert Mielnicki, to have the sentencing conducted via video conferencing to avoid exposure to COVID-19 that could occur if she has to travel to the nation's capital for sentencing. U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper hasn't ruled on that motion.
She was charged in August with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a capitol building and parading, demonstrating or picketing in the capitol building.
Sizer allegedly entered the Capitol at 2:48 p.m. Jan. 6 while congressional proceedings were underway to certify the vote count from the Electoral College for the 2020 presidential election.
She allegedly used her cellphone to record a tightly packed crowd of rioters moving through the parliamentarian door shouting “USA! USA!,” according to court documents.
The video pans outside the building, showing scores of rioters who had overwhelmed law enforcement on the west side of the building. Alarms can be heard blaring as she allegedly enters the building, according to court documents.
Security cameras show Sizer remained in the building for about two minutes before leaving through the same door she entered.
Sizer initially denied being in the building when agents contacted her Jan. 29, 2021, but she later admitted to being inside, and pleaded guilty in November.
A second area resident charged in the riot, Rachel M. Powell, 41, of Sandy Lake, Mercer County, is scheduled to have a status conference Friday before U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth.
Known as the “pink hat lady” for the brightly colored hat she allegedly was seen wearing during the insurrection, Powell, a mother of eight, faces charges of obstruction, depredation of government property, entering a restricted building or grounds with a dangerous weapon, entering a restricted building or grounds and violent entry or disorderly conduct.
Powell is accused of battering a window of the Capitol building with a large wooden pole, among other things. A former West Sunbury resident, Powell remains released on her own recognizance since she left Butler County Prison in February.
