A member of the Air National Guard took leave from work to participate in the Capitol riot, police say

• A West Virginia Air National Guard is facing charges for her participation in the Capitol riot.
• She was captured on video inside the Capitol building with a sweatshirt that said “Trump Girl.”
• She believed “she would be able to see the President again” in the Capitol building, a criminal complaint says.

A member of the West Virginia Air National Guard took a leave from work so she could attend the Capitol riot last year, according to court documents filed Friday. 

A criminal complaint filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia said Jamie Lynn Ferguson, 44, was “confirmed” to be on leave from January 5 to January 7. She indicated in her leave notice that she’d be traveling to Washington, DC, the site of the Capitol riot, during that time. 

The West Virginia Air National Guard did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment asking about Ferguson’s status with the organization.

The Capitol riot left five people, including one police officer, dead. Members of the Proud Boys, which is classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, were present, a Vice reporter tweeted.

Organizers were emboldened by former President Donald Trump’s urges to protest the results of the 2020 election with him, despite Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory. While members of Congress were meeting inside the Capitol to certify the results and verify Biden’s presidency, Trump supporters organized an attempted coup and stormed the Capitol.

In February, insurrectionists scrambled to delete photos and social-media posts proving their participation in the Capitol riot. Some broke their cellphones, scrubbed their social-media accounts, and tried to wipe hard drives that might contain photos and other proof of their involvement. 

But others boasted of their involvement, making it easier for the FBI to catch and charge them. 

Analyzing video footage, the FBI identified Ferguson “wearing a dark-blue hooded sweatshirt with the phrase ‘Trump Girl’ in white block lettering, and carrying an olive green backpack … entering through the east front Rotunda doors to the U.S. Capitol,” the complaint says. 

FBI agents also reviewed Ferguson’s social media accounts to determine the timeline of events and the extent of her participation in the Capitol riot.

Days before the Capitol riot, she posted an article to her Facebook page that showed a “picture of a crowd in front of the U.S. Capitol building with a storm cloud and Mt Rushmore above the building that read ‘Jan 6, 2021 — A Storm of Patriots will fight for the Republic, this will be an historic day.'” On that post, when a Facebook user indicated they would be in attendance, Ferguson replied, “me too!” according to the complaint.

In interviews with the FBI, she told police she entered the Capitol building because she believed “she would be able to see the President again” after having listened to him speak at the rally preceding the riot.

So far, more than 820 people have been charged in connection with the insurrection, according to Insider’s database.