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Kansas woman charged in Jan. 6 Capitol riot

Two Kansas women arrested for capitol riot involvement.PNG
Posted at 4:49 PM, Apr 25, 2021
and last updated 2021-04-25 17:49:18-04

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas woman who faces charges for her alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol said she believed she was attending a peaceful rally in support of President Donald Trump, according to Department of Justice documents.

Jennifer Ruth Parks and Esther Schwemmer, both of Kansas, were located and voluntarily interviewed by Federal Bureau of Investigation on January 17, the documents state.

Parks faces one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted buildings or ground without lawful authority and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

This came after the FBI received a tip about Parks being at the riot.

The FBI obtained screenshots between Parks' daughter and an unknown person on Jan. 11.

The text messages read "so depressed over all of the cheating in the election right now. Mom and her friend went to Washington for the March. Wish I could have gone too. Lol."

In a search warrant, law enforcement recovered video footage from Parks' cellphone that showed images of individuals consistent with Parks' and Schwemmer's appearance based on a photo Schwemmer provided

An investigation found Parks and Schwemmer entered the Capitol for 30 minutes to an hour after others broke through the door, the documents state.

For jurisdictions that utilize the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline, anonymous tips can be made by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), submitting the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com.

Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the 41 Action News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Read the 41 Action News Mug Shot Policy.