Piqua woman sentenced to prison, supervised release for Jan. 6 Capitol breach

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

A Piqua woman was sentenced to more than a month in prison and supervised released for her role in the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol breach.

U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly ordered 61-year-old Therese Borgerding to 50 days in prison, 130 days of home confinement and three years of supervised release, according to the U.S Attorney’s Office, District of Columbia.

Borgerding also must pay $2,000 in restitution.

She was previously convicted of obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder and misdemeanor 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 in a Capitol building.

Borgerding is accused of traveling from her home with her husband, Walter Messer, to Washington D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021, and gathering outside the U.S. Capitol building. The couple were at the barricades and stayed outside the restricted area for several hours.

Around 1:59 p.m., a large crowd overran the barricades and Borgerding went to the nearest barricades and unhooked them and pushed them apart, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. She reportedly stood on the steps near the Capitol rotunda doors joining chants and waving her sign.

Borgerding was allegedly near a group of rioters who forced the rotunda doors open and pushed their way into the building. She also pushed her way through the doors and went into the rotunda before joining a crowd near the Senate wing doors, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. She left through a smashed window and went to the northwest courtyard to continue chanting and waving her sign.

The FBI arrested Borgerding on Aug. 6, 2021, in Dayton.

Her husband was previously sentenced to two years of probation after pleading guilty to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.

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