Judge convicts northwestern Pa. woman in Capitol riots; she yelled for Pelosi to hang

After she was arrested for rioting at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and accused of demanding that then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi be dragged out so insurrectionists could hang her, Pauline Bauer told a judge that the law does not apply to her.

"You don't have jurisdiction over me, a free living soul, a woman," Bauer, a Pennsylvania resident, said in June 2021, at her arraignment in federal court in Washington, D.C.

"I stand above the law, because God gave man the law," Bauer also said, according to a transcript.

Bauer will have to answer to the law nonetheless.

Arrested in Capitol riots:Pennsylvania woman at insurrection called lawmakers criminals, saying: 'They need to hang.'

The 55-year-old restaurant owner from Kane, in McKean County, has been convicted of all five felony and misdemeanor charges against her over the breach of the Capitol. She will be sentenced on May 1.

Bauer was convicted at a nonjury trial on Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden presided over the trial, which started on Thursday. Bauer waived a jury trial and opted for a bench trial.

Bauer, who remains free on her own recognizance, was one of four people arrested in the Capitol riots who had their initial appearances in U.S. District Court in Erie, which covers seven counties in northwestern Pennsylvania and is about 90 miles west of Kane. The cases were transferred to federal court in Washington, D.C.

Two of the other defendants, including Bauer's friend, William Blauser, also of Kane, have pleaded guilty. The case against the fourth defendant is pending.

Bauer was convicted of the felony of obstruction of an official proceeding and the misdemeanors of entering and remaining in a restricted building; disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building; disorderly and disruptive conduct in any of the Capitol buildings with the intent to impede, disrupt, and disturb the orderly conduct of a session of Congress or either house of Congress; and parading, demonstrating and picketing in a Capitol building.

Bauer faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on the obstruction charge and a maximum of another three years on the misdemeanor counts, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia said in a news release. The sentence she will receive depends on how the judge applies the federal sentencing guidelines and other factors.

In September 2021, Judge McFadden ordered Bauer to be jailed for violating conditions of her pretrial release, according to the Associated Press. Bauer remained in custody for several months while awaiting a trial. The judge can give her credit for the jail time that she already has served.

'Bring Nancy Pelosi out here now'

The evidence against Bauer included Facebook posts and police body-camera video, the government said.

Bauer was among the mob that stormed the Capitol after attending then-President Donald Trump's "Stop the Steal" rally. Bauer and the others sought to disrupt the certification of the election for President Joe Biden.

When Bauer was inside the Capitol shortly before 3 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021, another person near her said, "This is where we find Nancy Pelosi," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Bauer, the office said, was standing approximately 30 feet from Pelosi's office when she was recorded saying, "Bring that (expletive) (expletive) out here now. Bring her out. Bring her out here. We’re coming in if you don't bring her out here."

Bauer pushed a police officer who was trying to remove her from the area, screaming at him and telling him, "You back up. Don't even try," the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Police in riot gear eventually removed her from the rotunda of the Capitol.

During the storming of the Capitol, according to the FBI, Bauer also told police officers: "Bring Nancy Pelosi out here now. We want to hang that (expletive) (expletive). Bring her out. We're coming in if you don't bring her out. What are you trying to do, protect a (expletive) Nazi?"

Number of people charged in riots grows to more than 950

Bauer's friend, William Blauser, who was with her at the Capitol, was sentenced in February to pay a $500 fine and $500 in restitution. He pleaded guilty in November 2021 to parading, demonstrating and picketing in a Capitol building.

Another defendant from northwestern Pennsylvania, Mikhail E. Slye, of Meadville, Crawford County, pleaded guilty in January to using a bike rack to trip a police officer during the riots. His sentencing is April 3.

The fourth defendant from northwestern Pennsylvania charged in the riots is Jeremy Vorous, from Venango, in northern Crawford County. He had status conference in his case scheduled for Wednesday.

The four defendants are among the 950 people arrested in the breach of the Capitol, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. Nearly 500 of them have pleaded guilty, according to the Associated Press, which also said dozens of others have been convicted after trials decided by juries or judges.

More than 70 of the defendants charged in the riots are are from Pennsylvania.

Stephen Colbert jokes about rioter's sovereignty claims

Bauer owns Bob's Trading Post, a restaurant in Kane, a town of about 3,500 residents next to the Allegheny National Forest. At her court hearings, she was combative with the judge as she espoused beliefs that she was a sovereign citizen who was not answerable to the U.S. government.

In one document, in which she unsuccessfully tried to get he case dismissed, Bauer referred to herself as a "vessel" and "the Living Soul, a Creation of God, a Woman, as One of We the People."

At her arraignment, at which she told the judge he lacked jurisdiction over her, Bauer also said, "Under God's law, I did not harm anyone nor did any damage to anything."

Bauer's protestations drew national attention.

She became a punchline for Stephen Colbert's late-night talk show on CBS. The host mocked Bauer for claiming to be a "divinely empowered entity immune from laws," according to the Associated Press.

"Divinely empowered? So she's going to get away scot-free, just like Jesus," Colbert joked. "But it does raise the question: If you're chosen by God to be above the laws of government, why do you care who's in charge of it?"

Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNpalattella.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Capitol rioter from NW Pa. convicted; she yelled for Pelosi to hang