Utah woman accused of being part of Jan. 6 capitol insurrection pleads guilty to a single charge

A Utah woman accused of entering the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2020, insurrection pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor charge in federal court on Jan. 13.

Janet West Buhler was arrested in Salt Lake City on July 30 after federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C. charged her with five counts involving the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6. Buhler and her stepson-in-law, retired Salt Lake City police officer Michael Lee Hardin, were allegedly in the Capitol that day, according to a statement of facts written by an FBI agent and filed in federal court.

Buhler was originally charged with knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building without lawful authority; disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building; entering or remaining in the Gallery of Congress; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.

On Jan. 13, she pleaded guilty to a single count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building, a misdemeanor that carries a sentence of up to six months in jail.

According to a plea agreement with federal prosecutor, the other charges will be dismissed when Buhler is sentenced.

Hardin is still facing multiple charges.

Buhler was the seventh person from Utah arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 riot by supporters of former President Donald Trump, which happened as members of Congress gathered to certify the election of President Joe Biden.

Charging records show screenshots of video allegedly displaying Hardin and Buhler outside the Capitol Rotunda and frames of surveillance video depicting them briefly entering the Senate gallery.

Buhler was identified after an FBI agent showed photos from the Capitol to someone who knew Hardin, according to charging documents. That acquaintance of Hardin also told the agent that Buhler had traveled to Washington with Hardin and entered the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Buhler’s cellphone pinged in the area of the Capitol Building, the agent states, and she was also identified by a tipster who said they spotted her in a photo from the Capitol that appeared in a Utah news outlet. The agent compared Capitol photos to photos on Buhler’s Facebook page.