A woman charged with participating in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, which she later referred to as the "best day ever," told a federal court she has learned from reading the book "Just Mercy" and watching the movie "Schindler's List."
Anna Morgan-Lloyd will plead guilty to one of her charges related to the riot. Her attorney said she will plead in exchange for three years of probation, $500 in restitution and community service.
In a letter to the court, Morgan-Lloyd apologized for going to the Capitol. She denied participating in any of the destruction at the Capitol and said she was "shocked" when she later learned things had turned violent.
"I felt ashamed that something meant to show support for the President had turned violent. This is not the way to prove any point," she said. "At first it didn’t dawn on me, but later I realized that if every person like me, who wasn’t violent, was removed from that crowd, the ones who were violent may have lost the nerve to do what they did. For that I am sorry and take responsibility. It was never my intent to help empower people to act violently."
Lloyd wrote that she lived "a sheltered life" and said that her lawyer gave her a list of book and movie suggestions to help her "see what life is like for others in our country."
The 49-year-old said she read "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson and watched several movies including "Schindler’s List" and "Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre" on the History Channel.
"I’ve learned that even though we live in a wonderful country things still need to improve," she wrote. "People of all colors should feel as safe as I do to walk down the street."
Lloyd included summaries of "Just Mercy" and "Schindler's List" in her letter, noting that the movie "was very moving" and "hard to watch and hard to not watch."
Morgan-Lloyd went to the Capitol with her friend Dona Bissey, according to a federal complaint. Bissey was also charged and her case is still pending.
Authorities said that Morgan-Lloyd appeared in several Facebook photos showing her inside the Capitol. In one post, Morgan-Lloyd allegedly wrote: “I’m here. Best day ever. We stormed the capitol building me and Dona Bissey were in the first 50 people in.”
Morgan-Lloyd said in her letter to the court that she was invited to go to the Capitol "to show support for the President." She said that she and her friends entered the building because they wanted to keep safe a 74-year-old woman they had met.
"I made the decision to go up and I’m responsible for that. No one made me go, I wasn’t forced. When she entered the building, we went in to find her. Once again I could have chosen to stay outside," she wrote.
After taking a picture inside the Capitol, Morgan-Lloyd and her friends left, she wrote.
Morgan-Lloyd and her attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. Her sentencing is scheduled for Wednesday.