Audrey Ann Southard-Rumsey, the Spring Hill vocal coach who was among nearly 100 Floridians accused of storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has been found guilty of federal charges for her role in the attack.
In a trial Friday before U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington, D.C., she was found guilty of seven charges, including assaulting, resisting or impeding officers; civil disorder; and obstruction of an official proceeding.
Southard-Rumsey, 54, became an early face of the riots that threatened the security of America's legislative branch of government and disrupted certification of the 2020 presidential election results. A week afterward, she was the subject of a Tampa Bay Times story that detailed her connection to Jan. 6, but also noted her talents as a singer and piano teacher.
She was seen on video inside the capitol building, screaming at and physically attacking police officers.
"Tell Pelosi we are coming for that b----," she said in one exchange, quoted in court records. "There's a hundred thousand of us, what's it going to be? ... Last friend, last bullet. What's it going to be?"
At another point, Southard-Rumsey grabbed a flagpole and pressed it against a police sergeant's chest. She pushed the sergeant backward into a set of doors that led onto the floor of the House of Representatives, according to federal prosecutors. As the doors opened, the sergeant fell, hitting his head against a marble statue.
"Pelosi, we're coming for you," she yelled.
Prosecutors said Southard-Rumsey later joined with a different group of rioters, who sought access to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office. The group pushed officers down a set of stairs. As police tried to clear the area, Southard-Rumsey tried to grab two officers' batons and a metal barrier.
Investigators later identified her in videos of the riots. Records of her cell phone signal also placed her inside the building during the attack, according to court records. She was arrested five months later.
She is set to be sentenced in June and could face prison time. Judge Mehta permitted her to remain free until then, with the conditions that she not participate in rallies or demonstrations, and that she not use social media except for purposes related to her services as a vocal coach.
To date, more than 950 people have been charged with crimes related to the Jan. 6 attack. More of them hailed from Florida than any other state.
