Emily Hernandez of Missouri was one of just hundreds of individuals who stormed the nation’s Capitol on January 6th, 2021, on behalf of then-outgoing President Donald Trump, in an attempt to stop the certification of President Joe Biden’s win and overthrow the results of the 2020 election, only to receive a full pardon for her crimes from newly inaugurated President Trump upon his return to office.
Now, she is one of many who are returning to prison just shortly after her golden ticket pardon — because that’s what criminals do.
Hernandez gained particular infamy regarding her role in the January 6th Capitol attack as the woman who paraded around a broken chunk of a sign bearing then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s name.
Ultimately, Hernandez turned herself in to federal authorities in 2022 after she was identified as one of the J6 rioters and was sentenced to 30 days in jail.
Since Trump’s return to office less than two weeks ago, she was one of 1,500 insurrectionists who received a pardon for her crimes related to the January 6th attack.
However, her freedom was particularly short-lived.
Just 6 days before she was slated to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of entering and remaining in a restricted building in the January 6th case, Emily Hernandez was involved in a drunk driving crash that claimed a life and her freedom.
The St. Louis Dispatch reports that Hernandez was driving the wrong way in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 44 in January 2022 when she crashed into an SUV. 32-year-old Victoria Wilson and 26-year-old Ryan Wilson were in that SUV.
Victoria was killed in the crash and Ryan was left with debilitating, life-altering injuries that have left him walking with a cane to this day.
Authorities have confirmed that Hernandez had a blood-alcohol content of .20% following the fatal crash — more than two times the state’s legal limit.
A Franklin County judge sentenced Emily Hernandez to 10 years for Victoria Wilson’s senseless and untimely death and an additional 7 years for Ryan Wilson’s life-altering injuries.
Judge Ryan Helfrich said in his sentencing, “Probation is not appropriate given the nature of what happened.”
According to the local publication, Hernandez spoke at her sentencing, saying, “What I did was ungodly and I will live with that shame for the rest of my life. I am sorry for what I did and if I could take it all back, I would.”
Featured image via FBI/Department of Justice