Missouri woman sentenced to jail for repeated probation violations in Capitol riot case

A federal judge has ordered jail time for a Missouri woman who has repeatedly violated probation in her Capitol riot case.

U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth on Monday revoked Mahailya Pryer’s probation and sentenced the Springfield woman to 30 days for committing numerous violations, including methamphetamine and fentanyl use.

The judge ordered that Pryer be committed to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons for 156 days but gave her credit for 81 days already served and for 45 days that he said reflected the 14 months she spent on probation. Lamberth also denied Pryer’s motion to be released pending an appeal.

Pryer had moved to have her probation terminated, saying it was an illegal sentence under a federal appeals court ruling last year involving another Capitol riot case, United States v. Little. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit found that a defendant convicted of a single petty offense may not be sentenced to both imprisonment and probation.

“This Court was without the authority to impose both imprisonment and probation, but Ms. Pryer received both,” Pryer’s public defenders argued. “She has fully served the imprisonment portion of her sentence, and therefore her probation must be terminated because she cannot twice be punished for the same offense.”

Lambert didn’t see it that way.

“Ms. Pryer has not established that her conduct warrants early termination because she has not shown changed circumstances or exceptionally good behavior,” the judge wrote in his opinion issued Monday. “Instead, she concedes that she has violated her conditions.”

Granting early termination to a defendant who has violated 11 conditions of probation, Lamberth said, would not “promote respect for the law” but instead undermine “adequate deterrence to criminal conduct.”

“It would send a message that the conditions of probation are optional and can be ignored without consequence,” the judge said. “It would also signal to the many defendants who have faithfully adhered to their conditions of probation that they were suckers for doing so.”

Lamberth noted that there was no evidence Pryer had been violent. But he said she had engaged in other forms of dangerous conduct, including driving a motor vehicle without a valid license on at least four occasions.

“Even more concerning is her frequently documented use of controlled substances, including methamphetamine and fentanyl,” he wrote. “On August 11, 2023, Ms. Pryer pleaded guilty in Greene County, Missouri state court to driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident. And on April 28, 2022, Ms. Pryer pleaded guilty in Greene County, Missouri state court to the felony offense of endangering the welfare of a child involving drugs.”

Pryer pleaded guilty in federal court in May 2022 to one misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building and was sentenced in September 2022 to 45 days of incarceration followed by 36 months’ probation, $500 restitution and 60 hours of community service. She also was ordered to participate in an inpatient substance abuse program and undergo drug testing.

But she was arrested May 1, 2023, for eight alleged probation violations. Among the allegations were that Pryer “continues to associate with known drug users and individuals involved in the criminal justice system,” possessed methamphetamine on four occasions, failed to make any effort to get a job and failed to attend substance abuse treatment.

Pryer was transported to Washington, where she was held in the District of Columbia jail while awaiting a hearing on whether to revoke her probation.

On May 24, 2003, a magistrate judge ordered her to be released to home incarceration at an inpatient facility pending her final probation revocation hearing. She wasn’t released until June 5 because of a lack of bed space at the facility.

The magistrate judge modified her conditions of release on July 5, 2023, permitting her to leave her home for medical treatment, including mental health and addiction, and to “seek or maintain employment.”

But on Aug. 15, 2023, the U.S. Probation Office filed an additional petition to revoke her probation, documenting five new violations it said Pryer had committed, including use and possession of methamphetamine and fentanyl, refusal to submit to substance abuse testing and failure to go to substance abuse treatment.

That same month, the federal appeals court issued its ruling in the Little case. And last November, Pryer filed a motion to terminate her remaining two years of probation based on that ruling.

The government objected, arguing that Pryer instead be resentenced.

Then in December, the Probation Office filed a petition alleging more violations, saying that she failed to notify her probation officer of a change of residence and that “after multiple unsuccessful attempts by (the Probation Office) to contact (Ms. Pryer) in addition to failing to make herself available for supervision, her whereabouts are reported as unknown.”

Judge Lamberth took over the case early this year, denied the government’s motion for resentencing and held the final hearing Monday on her probation revocation. He ruled that there would be no probation period after she serves the 30 days in jail.

Pryer breached the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, with another Springfield woman, Cara Hentschel, and the two were originally charged with four misdemeanors each. Both women had served prison time for previous offenses, and both breached the Capitol while on probation or bond for prior felony convictions, according to court documents.

Hentschel was sentenced to 45 days in a “residential re-entry center,” 36 months’ probation, 60 hours of community service and $500 fine. She also was required to pay $500 restitution for damage to the Capitol building on Jan. 6.

At her sentencing, Pryer told the judge she regretted her actions.

“I am very, very apologetic for what happened on January 6. I do think that it’s a horrible thing. ... I’m very remorseful for what I’ve done, the harm that I caused.”