UK student gets 30-day sentence for involvement in Jan. 6 Capitol riot
A former University of Kentucky student who unlawfully entered the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot has been sentenced to 30 days in jail followed by a year on probation, according to her attorney.
The sentence for Gracyn Courtright also includes 60 hours of community service and a $500 restitution payment, according to her attorney, Thomas Abbenante.
The government sought a sentence of six months in prison for Courtright, arguing she was one of the few people who went onto the Senate floor during the “violent attack” that threatened the peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election, injured more than 100 law enforcement officers and did more than $1 million in property damage at the Capitol.
Courtright did not engage in violence, but witnessed others damaging property and continued inside the building, Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel A. Fletcher said in a sentencing memorandum.
Courtright also downplayed the violence, posting on Instagram that “Infamy is just as good as fame. Either way I end up more known. XOXO,” the prosecutor said.
Courtright stayed in the building for almost half an hour without permission.
Abbenante had sought a sentence of 30 days in jail, 60 hours of community service and $500 restitution for Courtright, and that is what the judge handed down, he said.
Abbenante said that Courtright, who is from Hurricane, W. Va., didn’t even vote in the 2020 presidential election and didn’t go to the rally in Washington D.C. on Jan. with the intent to subvert democracy.
Rather, she went to see President Donald Trump speak at a rally “which was supposed to be his last,” the attorney said.
“She was caught up in the hysteria of the day,” however, Abbenante said.
Abbenante said once she was home and the reality of what happened set in, Courtright was embarrassed and her parents were furious. Her father took her to turn herself in.
UK suspended Courtright because of her conduct, according to Abbenante’s memo.
UK spokesman Jay Blanton confirmed on Friday that she is no longer enrolled at the school.
Howwver, she has a hearing scheduled next week to see if UK will reinstate her at some point and allow her to finish her final semester and get her degree, Abbenante said.
This story was originally published December 17, 2021 at 2:48 PM.
