Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 53
- Location
- Arbuckle, California
- Charges
- Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building; Violent Entry and 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
“I took off when I felt pepper spray in my throat! Lol,” read a Facebook post from Valerie Ehrke. She included a video showing a group of people entering the U.S. Capitol building at a little after 2 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021. “We made it inside, right before they shoved us all out,” the caption on the video said. According to court documents, that same profile page showed a flaming “Q” and a map that law enforcement associates with QAnon, a far-right conspiracy theory. FBI agents interviewed Ehrke, and she confirmed that she had traveled to Washington, D.C., attended a rally for then-President Donald Trump and heard him speak. But she said his telling the crowd to go to the Capitol didn’t inspire her to do so. Instead, according to details of her interview in court documents, she told the FBI she went back to her hotel room, turned on the TV, saw a news story about the march to the Capitol and wanted to be part of it all. She told the FBI, according to court documents, that she got about 15 feet inside the Capitol before someone grabbed her and pushed her outside.
Case History
Ehrke pleaded Guilty to one charge: Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building. The other charges were dismissed. Sentenced 9/17/2021 to 3 years probation; $500 restitution; $10 assessment fee; and 120 hours of community service. Ehrke 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.