A Capitol riot suspect is being 'shunned' by people in her small Indiana town and 'chastised' on the street, lawyer says
- Dona Bissey from Bloomfield, Indiana, was charged with storming the Capitol on January 6.
- After the insurrection Bissey said she was "proud" of being a part of it, a criminal complaint said.
- Her lawyer has since asked for a lenient sentencing, saying she's been shunned by her town.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
A Capitol riot suspect has been "shunned" and "chastised" by her community since her arrest in February, her lawyer wrote in a sentencing memorandum seen by Insider.
On Tuesday, Dona Bissey, 53, from Bloomfield, Indiana, wrote a letter to the court pleading for leniency and asking for a sentence of 18 months' probation.
Bissey faces four charges, including entering and remaining in a restricted building, and violent entry, and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building.
In the sentencing memorandum seen by Insider, the federal public defender AJ Kramer said the events of the insurrection had left Bissy feeling "deep regret, fear, shame, and remorse."
Bissy, who is a hair salon owner, had lost a lot of customers since her arrest and is currently taking antidepressants, Kramer said.
"Ms. Bissey has been chastised on the street and her business shunned. She had to move her salon following huge losses from a drop in clientele and because the pandemic made rental space unaffordable," he wrote.
"She lives in fear, knowing that every trip to the grocery store could result in someone angrily hurling insults or threats at her. Members of her family have been rebuked. Hate mail is regularly sent to her home address," Kramer added.
The lawyer also said that Bissey should not be incarcerated in a Washington, DC, jail due to multiple health issues, adding that she feared she will contract COVID-19. Bissey has not been vaccinated, he said.
Bissey also sent a handwritten letter to the court pleading for a more lenient sentence.
In the letter, seen by Insider, Bissey described herself as a "God-fearing, country-loving, law-abiding, hard-working Patriot" who attended several of former President Donald Trump's events "without incident."
"I am deeply saddened at the events that transpired on that day and very remorseful that I will forever be associated," she wrote in the letter.
Bissey's letter struck a different tone from what she was accused of saying on social media in the days after the insurrection.
In multiple posts and comments, Bissey and her friend, Anna Morgan-Lloyd, referred to January 6 as "the best fucking day ever," according to a federal complaint.
One day after the insurrection, Bissey wrote on Facebook: "We are home. It was a day I'll remember forever, I'm proud to be a part of it," the complaint said.
Morgan-Lloyd also wrote that they were among "the first 50 people" in the building, according to the complaint.
More than 660 people have been charged in the insurrection so far, according to Insider's tracker.
from Business Insider https://ift.tt/3uNUbtK
No comments