Woman Sentenced to 17 Years After Drunken Driving Crash Following Capitol Riot Pardon
Emily Hernandez, who was pardoned by Trump for her role in the Capitol riot, received a 17-year prison sentence for a fatal drunken driving crash that occurred shortly thereafter.
A woman pardoned last week by President Donald Trump for her role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack was sentenced to 17 years in prison on Wednesday for her role in a deadly drunken driving crash.
Emily Hernandez of Missouri gained fame for holding up a broken sign bearing then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's name that was taken during the Jan. 6 insurrection. She turned herself in to federal authorities in 2022 after being identified as one of the rioters and was sentenced to 30 days in jail. Hernandez was among 1,500 pardoned by Trump last week.
However, just six days before Hernandez was scheduled to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of entering and remaining in a restricted building in that case, she was involved in a fatal crash.
Hernandez was driving the wrong way in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 44 in January 2022 when she crashed into an SUV. Victoria Wilson, 32, was killed in the wreck. Ryan Wilson, 36, was seriously hurt and still walks with a cane, as reported by the St. Louis Dispatch.
A Franklin County judge sentenced Hernandez to 10 years for Victoria Wilson's death and seven years for Ryan Wilson's injury.
Hernandez had a blood-alcohol content of .20% after the crash, authorities said, which is more than double the state's legal limit.
"Probation is not appropriate given the nature of what happened," Judge Ryan Helfrich stated.
"What I did was ungodly and I will live with that shame for the rest of my life," Hernandez said at her sentencing, according to the newspaper. "I am sorry for what I did and if I could take it all back, I would."
