UK student charged in Capitol riot can return to Kentucky for class, court says
The University of Kentucky student accused of participating in the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot has been given permission to travel to Kentucky to attend her classes, according to federal court records.
Gracyn Dawn Courtright was charged with knowingly entering a restricted building, engaging in disorderly conduct in a restricted building, violent entry/disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds and theft of government property, according to a federal criminal complaint.
Courtright, who’s from West Virginia, appeared in federal court in the state Tuesday and was released from custody on a $10,000 bond. She was ordered to report to a probation officer. Her travel was restricted to West Virginia and D.C. for court, but she’s also allowed to travel to Kentucky for her classes as approved by her probation officer, according to an order signed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Dwane L. Tinsley.
Courtright also waived her right to a preliminary hearing, according to court records. She’s a senior at UK, and MetroNews in West Virginia reported she’s expected to graduate in May after a final semester of “mostly online” classes.
UK spokesman Jay Blanton said he couldn’t discuss individual disciplinary issues, but “the student code of conduct applies both on and off campus.”
“If the university is made aware of a student taking actions in violation of local, state or federal laws, the student code of conduct applies in that context,” Blanton said.
Violating federal, state or local law is considered a student conduct violation, according to UK’s code of student conduct. The least severe penalty if a student is found to have violated the conduct code is an informal warning and the most severe penalty is expulsion.
“Every case is considered on a case-by-case basis,” Blanton said. He added that UK takes “the code of student conduct very seriously.”
Courtright was charged after FBI agents reviewed screenshots from her Instagram and Twitter accounts which showed her at the Capitol that day, according to an affidavit filed in federal court.
One of the screenshots showed Courtright outside the Capitol with the caption “can’t wait to tell my grandkids I was here,” according to the affidavit. Another screenshot featured the caption “infamy is just as good as fame. Either way I end up more known.”
The affidavit also featured screenshots of messages between Courtright and someone who remained anonymous. In those, Courtright admitted to going into the Senate chamber. In those messages, she said she wasn’t “embarrassed” to have done it, according to the criminal complaint.
Courtright’s charges could lead to years of prison time if she is convicted. Two of her charges carry maximum sentences of 10 years in prison. She faced scrutiny on social media after it was discovered that she attended the event, and a petition calling for her expulsion from UK has been signed more than 2,600 times.
“The actions by Gracyn Courtright on that day damage the democratic values that the University of Kentucky and United States stands for, undermine the institutions that are the bedrock of our great democracy, and completely insult and undercut the work that I and thousands of other University of Kentucky students put in every day to increase civic engagement among students and defend our democratic values and institutions,” wrote UK student Branden Gobeli on the petition he started.
Khari Gardner, a UK senior and activist, signed the petition calling for expulsion and said he hopes the university “really, really steps up to the plate with this one and shows that it’s unacceptable.” Gardner said he found some of Courtright’s online statements to be “mind-blowing.”
“There’s people who are about to get a degree with me in a few months who share these ideals that are so beyond any form of fact, that it’s just, I just don’t know,” Gardner said. “It makes you lose your faith in society.”
Gov. Andy Beshear on Tuesday acknowledged those people with Kentucky ties that now face riot-related charges, and said he applauds those providing information to the authorities.
“It’s more important than ever that we call out hate and we call out insurrection and we call out domestic terror when it occurs around us whether we know the person or not,” Beshear said. “Maybe especially if we do.”
Rick Childress contributed to this report.
This story was originally published January 20, 2021 at 7:25 AM.