Dona Bissey, 53, of Bloomfield, Indiana, wh0 partook in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, is facing four charges, including entering and remaining in a restricted building, violent entry, and disorderly conduct in the Capitol.
According to reports, Bissey asked the court for leniency because she’s not vaccinated and she doesn’t want to catch COVID-19 in jail.
“Simply put, if Ms Bissey is incarcerated at the D.C. Jail or in the BOP, which has seen 259 inmate deaths and over 43,000 infections from COVID-19, she is extremely likely to suffer severe illness or even death,” her attorney, A. J. Kramer, wrote in a filing, adding that his client “has not helped her chances of fighting the virus by remaining unvaccinated.”
Kramer went on to say that his client “does not deserve to die for her bad behavior on January 6” and asked the court to take her “unique medical vulnerabilities” into account.
Jan 6 defendant Dona Bissey says her hair salon business has tanked, because of criminal case
Defense asked court for leniency at sentencing: "She lives in fear, knowing that every trip to the grocery store could result in someone angrily hurling insults or threats at her" pic.twitter.com/E1XCHho98T
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) October 10, 2021
In another plea to the court, Kramer said Bissey “lives in fear, knowing that every trip to the grocery store could result in someone angrily hurling insults or threats at her.”
Bissey, who owns a hair salon, wrote a handwritten letter to the judge last week saying that as a result of her arrest and subsequent charges, her business is struggling, causing her to take antidepressants.
In her letter, she described herself as a “God-fearing, country-loving, law-abiding, hard-working Patriot,” adding that she was “deeply saddened” by the Capitol riot and that she was “very remorseful” for taking part in it. But as Business Insider points out, a post she made to Facebook on Jan. 7 didn’t show much remorse.
“It was a day I’ll remember forever. I’m so proud I was a part of it! No shame,” she wrote on Facebook on January 7.
