WASHINGTON — A Florida couple who previously appeared in a documentary about the QAnon conspiracy theory pleaded guilty Monday to federal charges connected to the Capitol riot.
Jamie Buteau, 50, and Jennifer Buteau, 46, of Ocala, Florida, appeared before U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss to enter their guilty pleas to one count each. Jamie, who faced the more serious charges, pleaded guilty to one felony count of assaulting police. Jennifer pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
According to charging documents, the couple was identified in part thanks to their participation in a 2018 HBO documentary titled “QAnon: Into the Storm,” about the conspiracy movement. The QAnon conspiracy theory holds that former President Donald Trump was engaged in a global battle against a Satanic cabal of child sex abusers who he would eventually bring to mass justice on a day known as “the Storm.”
On Jan. 6, the Buteaus traveled to D.C. from their home in Florida and entered the U.S. Capitol through a broken door in the Senate Wing approximately 10 minutes after it was first breached. Prosecutors say the couple then made their way to an elevator lobby between the Crypt and the Capitol Visitors Center, where they encountered U.S. Capitol Police officers who were retreating from the mob.
On Monday, Jamie pleaded guilty to throwing a chair and striking one of those officers, identified only as “C.N.,” while police were trying to close a door to prevent rioters from entering the visitors center.
According to charging documents, the FBI received multiple tips about the Buteaus, including one containing a screen of a Facebook post Jennifer had made claiming “antifa was infiltrating Trump supporters” on Jan. 6. According to another tipster, who identified themselves as a family member of the Buteaus, after the riot Jennifer had changed her Facebook information to “appear as part of the Democratic Party.”
Moss accepted both Buteaus’ guilty pleas Monday and scheduled a sentencing hearing for Oct. 20 at 2 p.m. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Jamie could face an advisory guideline of 37-46 months in prison. Because she pleaded to a class “B” misdemeanor, Jennifer could be eligible for a probation-only sentence.
The Buteaus aren’t the first believers in the QAnon conspiracy theory to be convicted in connection with the riot. In December, Doug Jensen, of Des Moines, was sentenced to five years in prison for leading the mob that chased U.S. Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman. Jensen, who wore a sweatshirt with a large “Q” on it during the Capitol riot, argued he trial he believed police were going to arrest prominent Democrats and former Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6. Another rioter known as the “QAnon Shaman,” Jacob Chansley, received four years in prison for entering the Senate Chamber and leaving a threatening note for Pence. A judge recently denied Chansley’s motion to vacate his guilty plea.