Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 33
- Location
- Springfield, Missouri
- Charges
- Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building; Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building
- Case status
- Pleaded guilty; Dismissed in part or full; Sentenced
- Presidential action
- Pardon
Case Summary
Cara Hentschel allegedly wrote to a Facebook friend shortly after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, saying, “we storm peloskis [sic] office and took her beer. She drinks Corona,” according to messages the FBI obtained through a search warrant. The FBI’s criminal complaint, however, disputes this claim, stating that although surveillance footage shows Hentschel inside the Capitol for about a half-hour, the footage does not show Hentschel or her acquaintance, Mahailya Pryer, who is also charged, entering House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. Hentschel declined to answer the FBI’s questions in March and allegedly told a tipster who traveled to Washington, D.C., with them that “the FBI could not prove she committed any crimes if she refused to speak with them,” according to a criminal complaint. Hentschel was arrested Oct. 4, 2021, in Springfield, Mo.
Case History
Hentschel pleaded Guilty to one charge: Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building. The other charges are dismissed. Sentenced on 9/30/2022 to 45 days in a halfway house/residential reentry; 36 Months of Probation; Special Assessment of $10; Fine of $500; Restitution of $500; 60 hours of community service. Hentschel received a full pardon on January 20, 2025
Sources
- Primary Documentation
NPR Jan. 6 Defendant DatabaseNPR - Primary Documentation
Underlying court recordCourt record linked by NPR
Case summary, charges, procedural updates and image are drawn from the NPR Jan. 6 archive snapshot dated 2026-09-25 unless otherwise indicated.