Judge convicts restaurant owner who wanted Pelosi to hang

A federal judge on Tuesday convicted a Pennsylvania restaurant owner of storming the U.S. Capitol, where she screamed at police officers to bring out then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi so the pro-Trump mob could hang her.

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden decided the case against Pauline Bauer after hearing testimony without a jury. The judge convicted her of all five counts in her indictment, including a felony charge that she obstructed the Jan. 6, 2021, joint session of Congress for certifying President Joe Biden’s electoral victory, court records show.

Bauer’s bench trial started last Thursday. McFadden announced the verdict from the bench. The judge is scheduled to sentence her on May 1. McFadden agreed to let Bauer remain free on certain conditions until her sentencing.

In September 2021, McFadden ordered Bauer to be jailed for violating conditions of her pretrial release. Bauer remained in custody for several months while awaiting a trial. The judge can give her credit for the jail time that she already has served.

During her initial court appearances, Bauer expressed an ideology that appeared to comport with the “sovereign citizens” extremist movement’s belief that the U.S. government is illegitimate.

Bauer, 55, travelled from her home in Kane, Pennsylvania, to hear then-President Donald Trump speak to a crowd of his supporters at the “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6. Bauer was part of the crowd that forced Capitol police officers to retreat up the stairs in front of the East Rotunda doors, prosecutors said.

Bauer entered the Capitol with a friend, William Blauser, and confronted police officers protecting an entrance to the Rotunda. She shouted at police officers to “bring them out or we’re coming in,” according to prosecutors.

“They’re criminals. They need to hang,” Bauer yelled.

Video from a police officer’s body camera captured her profanely yelling at the officers to “bring Nancy Pelosi out here now. We want to hang (her).”

She and Blauser left the Capitol about 38 minutes after they entered.

Bauer’s indictment charged her with a felony count of obstructing an official proceeding. She also was charged with four misdemeanors, including entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds and disorderly or disruptive conduct in a Capitol building or grounds.

Approximately 950 people have been charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. Nearly 500 of them have pleaded guilty. Dozens of others have been convicted after trials decided by juries or judges.