Former N.J. woman sentenced to prison for ‘proudly’ invading U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6

A woman who lived in Ocean County when she entered the U.S. Capitol with rioters on Jan. 6, 2021 will serve 45 days behind bars.
Anna Lichnowski, 37, was also sentenced to serve three years’ probation, perform 200 hours of community service, and pay a $2,500 fine and $500 in restitution, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia told NJ Advance Media after her Friday morning hearing.
A judge convicted Lichnowski of four misdemeanor charges during a bench trial this summer in federal court in Washington, D.C. After the riots, she posted a picture of herself on social media with a caption that said she was “proud” to have stormed the Capitol.
She lived in Brick in Jan. 2021, and now lives in Florida, where she works as a tour boat captain.
Federal prosecutors argued for a 12-month prison term. Her lawyer, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday, argued for probation.
On Thursday, a judge denied a last-ditch effort from Lichnowski‘s legal team to stave off her sentencing until next year “in order to permit [her] to seek a Presidential pardon“ from Donald Trump. The judge wrote in his order that ”the potential future exercise of the discretionary pardon power” was “irrelevant” to the court’s obligation to sentence Lichnowski.
The 37-year-old’s attorneys previously attempted to portray her as having overcome great adversity, including near-fatal overdoses, having struggled with substance abuse issues after the death of her mother when she was just 18 years old.
Lichnowski went to Florida previously, but returned to take care of her younger siblings during a rough personal period in her life. “Despite her deteriorating mental and physical health, she empowered her younger sisters to become successful women who graduated college, started successful careers, and moved out-of-state to lead better lives,” her lawyers wrote in a sentencing report.
The report also says at the time of the rioting, Lichnowski was a federal employee, working as a disaster loan specialist for the Small Business Administration. She is also a graduate of Monmouth University.
Lichnowski currently owns a home with her fiancée, is active in her Florida community and is a mentee to young women, according to the report, which mentions several letters submitted to the court on her behalf by family, friends, colleagues and mentees – many of whom would be negatively affected by her incarceration, according to her lawyers. (The letters were not available in the court docket.)
She even helped out during the hurricanes that ravaged Florida, appearing on CNN to discuss her efforts.
“The Defendant has, by all accounts, rehabilitated herself from a past life that could have certainly led to a life of crime. She has dedicated half of her adult life to achieving her potential personally and professionally. She would not risk the life she has to commit crimes in the future,” the report argued.
It also said the letters show Lichnowski has “accepted responsibility and shown remorse to those closest to her. She should not be penalized for failing to make an obsequious show of submission to the Federal Government.”
Federal prosecutors argued in their report that Lichnowski needed to go to prison because, even after her convictions, she continues to dispute her role on Jan. 6.
Lichnowski filed objections to information in pre-sentence reporting by filing affidavits from herself and a friend she claims called her on Jan. 6, 2021, with news that Congress had been evacuated from the Capitol – purportedly before Lichnowski entered.
The call never happened, and Lichnowski is making a “belated attempt to relitigate the Court’s factual finding that she testified untruthfully,” the prosecutor’s report said.
“By doubling down on this spurious narrative, Lichnowski still has not come to terms with her conduct on January 6 and lacks remorse for her actions,” the report said.
The report described the judge at her trial not finding her testimony “convincing” nor “truthful,” and her attempts to “deceive” him with several falsehoods.
Lichnowski entered the Capitol unlawfully, stayed there after a police officer ordered her to leave, then stayed in another exterior restricted area for 45 minutes, the report says. She was found guilty.
The prosecutors report said Lichnowski has no criminal history and is a college graduate.
“But by the same token, nothing in Lichnowski’s background mitigates her culpability for her crimes as part of the mob that breached the Capitol on January 6, 2021. To the contrary, she was 33 years old at the time of the offense. She should have known better than to participate in a riot—particularly when she knew full well that Congress and the Vice President would be there administering their constitutional obligations.”
Thank you for relying on us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.
Kevin Shea may be reached at [email protected].
AJ McDougall may be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X at @oldmcdougall.