Lackawanna County woman found guilty after trial on Jan. 6 riot charges By Borys Krawczeniuk | WVIA News Published October 17, 2024
Lee was charged with misdemeanor counts of entering or 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 in a Capitol building. In all, Lee faces up to three years in prison and fines of up to $210,000. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 27, a U.S. attorney’s office spokeswoman said in an email. In August, on Lee’s 58th birthday, U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson dismissed a more serious felony count that could have meant up to 20 years more in prison. Faruqui took over the case after Lee asked to have a U.S. magistrate judge preside at the trial.
Capitol riot arrests: See who’s been charged across the U.S. Dinah Voyles Pulver, Doug Caruso, Rachel Axon, Katie Wedell, Erin Mansfield, Zshekinah Collier, Tyreye Morris USA TODAY 12:00 AM EST, Jan. 15, 2021 Updated: 2:27 PM EDT, July 24, 2024
Deborah Lynn Lee – Lee posted photos on her Facebook account of her experience in the Capitol, the FBI reported in charging documents. A tipster turned her into the FBI on Jan. 7. She was with Michael Joseph Rusyn, who was arrested in April. The FBI said she was part of a crowd that forcefully pushed back a line of uniformed police officers in the vicinity of the Chamber of the House of Representatives but was not see in video or photos making physical contact with the officers. In messages she sent via Facebook, she stated “I broke into congress(sic) and there were guns on us” and “It’s our house. Our capital(sic). We had every right to occupy.” Charges Entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds Age: 55 Home state: Pennsylvania Arrested or charged on: 8/12/2021
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Michael Joseph Rusyn Although a court document details the charges against Rusyn, additional documents that explain the case aren’t yet available. Charges Entering and remaining in any restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. Outcome Pleaded guilty to Parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building on Sept. 13. Sentence Sentenced Jan. 11, 2022, to two years probation and $2,500 fines and restitution. Age: 64 [sic] Home state: Pennsylvania Arrested or charged on: 4/9/2021
Olyphant man sentenced to probation for role in Capitol riot – Michael Rusyn of Olyphant was sentenced Tuesday after a guilty plea in September. BY BORYS KRAWCZENIUK STAFF WRITER Jan 11, 2022
Rusyn, 36, pleaded guilty Sept. 13 to a misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in the Capitol. Before Jackson sentenced him, Rusyn said he did not intend to cause trouble or hurt his family. “I’d like to start by saying I’m sorry and I apologize,” Rusyn said. “I’m full of regret and I’m full of shame.” Rusyn told Jackson he would keep caring for his 87-year-old grandmother, who, Jackson acknowledged, would be in a nursing home if Rusyn hadn’t moved into her home to help. Rusyn said he’s seeking counseling and hopes to practice his craft and move into supervisory union roles, keep coaching his school-age daughters in softball, make sure they get good grades and continue serving as a firefighter. Federal prosecutor Michael Romano acknowledged Rusyn’s care for his grandmother and children, his job and his distancing himself from others who rioted, including the woman who accompanied him into the Capitol, Deborah Lynn Lee, of Olyphant.
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Jackson dismissed the notion of post-riot remorse. She pointed out Rusyn and Lee were among the first 30 to 40 people to enter the Capitol and “strolled through the building arm in arm.” “You didn’t say or do anything to demonstrate that you were chastened by news reports afterward,” Jackson said. Jackson said Rusyn should have known better because he’s an Olyphant firefighter who deals with public safety. “And that really bothers me,” she said. Jackson said she considered jailing Rusyn on weekends, but decided against it because of the risk of sending him to a community correctional center during the COVID-19 pandemic. She said a jail sentence was “fully warranted,” but said she weighed that against his work, firefighting duties and grandmother care. Rusyn is one of four Northeast Pennsylvanians charged in the Capitol assault. Former Old Forge School Director Frank Scavo, 59, was sentenced to 60 days in prison and is awaiting a date to report to prison.
Man who organized buses for 200 people to travel to DC pleads guilty in US Capitol riot probe Katelyn Polantz By Katelyn Polantz and Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN Published 2:48 PM EDT, Wed September 8, 2021 The admissions Scavo pleaded to didn’t mention the four buses that he organized to bring people from eastern Pennsylvania to Washington for the rally, and there’s no indication those tours sparked investigators’ interest past their initial round of questioning. On January 15, Scavo had told the FBI in an interview about chartering the buses, according to records from his arrest.
Attorney: Feds retaliated against Olyphant woman after plea deal rejection in Jan. 6 Capitol riot case Borys Krawczeniuk, The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa. Updated Tue, May 23, 2023 Attorney John M. Pierce wants the entire case against Deborah Lynn Lee dismissed because, he argues, prosecutors added a felony charge last month to retaliate against her for demanding a trial on the four original, less serious misdemeanor charges and rejecting plea deal offers. The prosecution violated the U.S. Constitution by adding the felony, Pierce wrote in his dismissal motion. “It is a violation of the due process clause for the government to retaliate against defendants who choose to exercise their constitutional rights,” Pierce wrote. The felony, obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting (obstruction), was added in a new indictment handed up April 5 and carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison. None of the misdemeanors are punishable by more than a year in prison.
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For the first time, Pierce offered details of Lee’s background. He described her as “a decorated partially disabled veteran, a mother of three and a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and a 10-year member of (the) American Legion.” Pierce said Lee served three years in Korea and 11 years in the Army Reserves. During the Persian Gulf War in 1990 and 1991, Lee served as an assistant to instructors at the Army War College at Wesley, Delaware. “She raises funds for veteran causes and conducts funeral escorts for veterans,” he wrote. “Deb Lee is a model citizen with no criminal history.” Pierce said Lee retired as the first female corrections officer promoted to lieutenant at the state prison at Waymart. She was also the first woman to serve on its emergency response team. “Despite her injuries and disability, Deb Lee has run and helped organize dozens of 5K races for charity and fundraising,” Pierce said. “And despite her career in corrections, Ms. Lee has been an advocate for the wrongly convicted. She is a member and officer of Bikers for Justice, a group that supports and raises funds for wrongly convicted inmates and escorts defendants, family and witnesses to court proceedings to aid in exonerations.”
Megan Han Lee, by Her Mother and Next Friend, Deborah Lynnlee and Deborah Lynn Lee, Plaintiffs-appellants, v. the United States, Defendant-appellee, 124 F.3d 1291 (Fed. Cir. 1997) Annotate this Case US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit – 124 F.3d 1291 (Fed. Cir. 1997) Sept. 17, 1997
In April 1989, Megan Han Lee, a two-year-old child, was being cared for in the home of United States Army Sgt. Boyce Garner and his wife as part of an Army child-care program. One day while Ms. Garner left the home to go shopping, Sgt. Garner placed Megan in a bathtub filled with hot water. When Megan attempted to get out of the bathtub, Sgt. Garner struck her and held her in the water. Megan sustained serious burns as a result. Sgt. Garner was convicted of criminal child abuse in connection with the incident. Megan and her mother, Deborah Lynn Lee, first sued the Garners in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, where they obtained a default judgment. The Lees then brought suit against the United States in the Court of Federal Claims seeking damages for breach of an insurance contract relating to the rendering of child care services. The Court of Federal Claims granted summary judgment in favor of the government. We agree with the Court of Federal Claims that the United States did not breach a contract that would entitle the Lees to recover against the United States for their injuries, and we therefore affirm. At the time of the incident giving rise to this case, Deborah Lee was enlisted in the United States Army and was stationed at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland where she was receiving training in vehicle mechanics. To accommodate her training schedule, she enrolled her daughter in the Family Child Care (“FCC”) program offered to base personnel.
Update: Jan 27, 2025
Lackawanna County J6 insurrectionist among the pardoned.
Trump Jan. 6 riot pardons aid almost a dozen residents of Northeast and North-Central Pa.By Borys Krawczeniuk | WVIA News Published January 22, 2025 at 4:39 PM EST A judge convicted Lee on Oct. 11 of entering and remaining in a restricted building (the Capitol) or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in the Capitol; and parading, demonstrating or picketing in the Capitol.
I wasn’t hoping that person would go to jail, but a blanket pardon for all the insurrectionists sure seems outrageous and likely to embolden or even urge some to do worse in future.
The USA Today article I linked to in the previous post was coming up 404 page not found, but it is archived on The Wayback Machine, Archive.Today, and, at least for now, if you visit The Library of Congress in person.