Capitol rioter says she has right to ‘self determination’ as judge sends her to jail

A Pensylvania woman who allegedly threatened to “hang” Nancy Pelosi during the 6 January Capitol riots has been ordered back to prison ahead of her trial.

Federal prosecutors had reported that Pauline Bauer was refusing to follow court orders, which led a judge to revoke her pre-trial release at a court hearing on Friday.

Ms Bauer has allegedly refused to surrender her passport, confirm her address, let pretrial services inspect her home or call to check in once a week, all conditions of her release, reports Courthouse News.

NBC 4 Washington’s Scott McFarlane posted on Twitter that Bauer claims she is a “sovereign citizen” ie one of the growing movement of people who believe that laws do not apply to them. During the hearing, she told the judge that she is not subject to the court’s supervision and denied its authority to hold her in custody. “I have a right to my self-determination,” she told the judge, adding: “I do not agree to any tacit agreement that puts me back in the water. I am on the land.”

US District Judge Trevor McFadden did not accept Ms Bauer’s arguments. He told her: “I don’t want to lock you up [...] I’m not concerned about you being a danger to the community but I am very concerned about you being willing to comply with your conditions of release.”

He then ordered her to be sent to prison ahead of her trial. “The problem is she’s not going to do what I direct her to do,” said Mr McFadden. “Ms. Bauer is now going to be incarcerated.”

The judgment provoked a furious response from Ms Bauer, who was taken from the courtroom screaming: “No! I’m not going back to jail! Why are you doing this?”

Ms Bauer has been charged with non-violent misdemeanor offences connected with the January 6 Capitol riots. The Daily Mail reports that body camera footage showed her shouting at a police officer: “Bring Nancy Pelosi out here now … we want to hang that f***ing b****”.

“You bring them out or we’re coming in,” she is reported to have said, according to the transcript of a police body camera. “Bring them out now. They’re criminals. They need to hang.”