Lake in the Hills woman charged in connection to Jan. 6 Capitol riot

A Lake in the Hills woman has been charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Nhi Ngoc Mai Le was charged by federal prosecutors on Sept. 6 with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; 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, federal courts records show.

The FBI was able to identify Mai Le because she posted “several pictures to her Facebook account of herself at a rally in Washington, D.C., and inside the U.S. Capitol building,” according to a criminal complaint filed against Mai Le in federal court.

Someone also anonymously reported to the FBI National Threat Operations Center that Mai Le was present at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to the complaint.

FBI agents interviewed Mai Le at her unspecified place of employment in Johnsburg on April 14, 2021, the court records show. She admitted to flying to Washington D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021, to attend the rally but denied entering the Capitol building, according to the criminal complaint.

FBI agents found Facebook messages sent by Mai Le that said “I was inside the Capitol” and “got pepper spray[ed],” authorities said. Messages also revealed that she climbed a wall to reach the Capitol building, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

FBI agents interviewed Mai Le a second time at her home on Feb. 22, 2022, during which she said she had traveled from Chicago to Atlanta to attend a rally with then-President Donald Trump on Jan. 4, 2021, court records show. From there, she traveled to Washington D.C. to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally and enter the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, according to federal prosecutors.

“I’m only contributing a small part, doing the least I can to save America,” Mai Le wrote in a Facebook post dated Jan. 4, 2021, and originally written in Vietnamese, according to the court document. “Money can be earned back, but moments like these only come once in a lifetime. Fight to the end – free or die.”

Other Facebook posts and videos were created by Mai Le on or around Jan. 6, 2021, according to federal prosecutors, including one in Vietnamese that read, “Proud to be a Trump supporter, remember today’s historic event January 6. It was a pleasure to meet so many very enthusiastic brothers from all over the United States.”

A person identified in court documents as the attorney for Mai Le didn’t respond to an email request for comment.

More than 1,000 people – including now Trump himself – have been charged in connection to the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, in which Trump supporters sought to overturn the results of the 2020 election.