Prosecutor wants Boise woman convicted for Jan. 6 Capitol riot crimes put away for years
Federal attorneys want a nearly three-year prison sentence for an Idaho woman arrested in connection to the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riots.
In March, a jury convicted Yvonne St Cyr, 56, of Boise, of two felony counts of obstructing and interfering with law enforcement during a civil disorder.
St Cyr was also found guilty of four misdemeanor charges: entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; and parading, demonstrating or picketing the Capitol building.
Matthew Graves, prosecuting attorney for the District of Columbia, recommended St Cyr be sentenced to 33 months in prison, according to court documents filed Saturday. He also said she should be supervised for three years after her release, fined $2,000 in restitution and undergo a mandatory assessment for $270.
Graves noted that St Cyr continued publicly calling the United States justice system “corrupt” after the trial and proclaimed she “had every right to be there” when speaking about the Capitol riot.
“Her words show a lack of remorse, disrespect for the law, and disregard for the legal process,” Graves said in the sentencing memorandum.
He also pointed out that she has a history of criminal activity. St Cyr was arrested in December 2020 for trespassing after she refused to leave Boise’s Central District Health building during a meeting. She was also dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Marine Corps for a drug offense.
“It is clear that St Cyr proceeds through life as she desires, with disregard for law and authority,” Graves said. “A 33-month sentence is warranted to deter her future crimes.”
A mob of rioters on Jan. 6, 2021, stormed the Capitol, attacking law enforcement officers, as Congress certified the results of the 2020 presidential election, the Idaho Statesman previously reported. At least seven people died in connection with the insurrection, including officers who died by suicide, according to a bipartisan Senate report.
St Cyr traveled to Washington, D.C., in the days leading up to Jan. 6 to attend former President Donald Trump’s rally. After leaving the rally, she joined a crowd of rioters occupying the west plaza of the Capitol, according to a Justice Department news release. St Cyr was part of the group of rioters who broke through a police line, and she was one of the first to enter the Lower West Plaza tunnel.
St Cyr was seen in video footage that she recorded yelling, “We need fresh people” and “push, push, push” as other rioters attempted to move past the police officers, according to prosecutors’ sentencing memorandum to the judge. Evidence showed she crawled through a broken window into Senate office space, where she said she was looking for a place to charge her phone.
Nearly 1,000 people have been arrested and charged with crimes related to the Capitol riot, including six Idaho residents. Among them are:
Josiah Colt, a Boise man who pleaded guilty in July to one felony count of obstruction of an official proceeding. Colt was sentenced to 15 months in prison. He was photographed sitting in then-Vice President Mike Pence’s seat during the riot.
Pamela Hemphill, a Boise woman in the Capitol Building during the riot. She was sentenced to two months in jail and three years of probation for one misdemeanor count of demonstrating in the Capitol Building.
Duke Wilson, of Nampa. He received more than four years in prison after he admitted to hitting at least one police officer with a pipe, assisting other rioters in attempting to pull a defensive shield away from a police officer, and pushing an officer to the ground.
St Cyr’s sentencing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 13, in court in Washington D.C. with District Judge John D. Bates.
