Mahailya Pryer

Case Summary

A relative of Mahailya Pryer, also known as Mahailya Williams, told the FBI they traveled to Washington, D.C., to attend then-President Donald Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021, rally with Cara Hentschel, who is also charged in the riot, and another relative. According to a criminal complaint, the two unnamed relatives stopped at a barrier near the U.S. Capitol, separating from Pryer and Hentschel. Surveillance footage shows Pryer and Hentschel entering the Capitol rotunda doors at 2:43 p.m. and exiting at 2:51 p.m., according to the complaint. As the FBI was interviewing Pryer’s relative in June of 2021, the tipster claimed to be angry that Pryer had entered the Capitol. This relative called Pryer in front of the agents, insisting she should cooperate with the FBI. The criminal complaint says Pryer became angry and hung up on her relative. Shortly afterward, the FBI visited Pryer’s home, where she declined to answer questions because “she did not want to incriminate herself, though she did not think that she had done anything wrong," court documents indicate. She also told the FBI that she and Hentschel were no longer friends. Pryer was arrested Oct. 4, 2021, in Springfield, Mo.

Case History

Pryer 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 of incarceration; 36 months of Probation; Special Assessment of $10; Restitution of $500; 60 hours of community service. Pryer 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.