Jenna Ryan, who was arrested last week and calls herself “a martyr” after allegedly taking part in the assault on the Capital, asked her Twitter followers on Thursday to open up their wallets and help an "old friend.”
A Texas realtor who traveled to the Capitol on a private plane and allegedly took part in the storming of the building insurrection was kicked off PayPal on Thursday after she allegedly tried to solicit donations for her legal troubles and losses, according to a report.
Jenna Ryan, who was arrested last week and calls herself “a martyr” after allegedly taking part in the assault on the Capital, asked her Twitter followers on Thursday to open up their wallets and help an "old friend.”
On her post, she shared a link to a PayPal account where supporters could offer a donation, CBS News reported.
Ryan said, "I am accepting donations to pay legal fees and losses due to my arrest and charges by the FBI for protesting at the US Capitol. Thank you for your support. Any amount helps.” She later claimed she had raised $1,000, CBS reported.
“I was set up on fundly but they shut me down saying I’m a racist. So now I’m on PayPal where I’ve been for many years. It’s safer,” she continued, the New York Post reported.
That did not last for long. By Thursday night, PayPal closed Ryan’s account, CBS reported.
"PayPal has the policy to allow fundraising for legal defense purposes," said PayPal spokesperson, Kim Eichorn, said in an email to CBS News. "PayPal thoroughly reviews accounts, and if we learn that funds are used for anything other than legal defense, the account will be subject to immediate closure. We can confirm that the account in question has been closed."
Ryan acknowledged that her PayPal account was shut down and sent out a response to her followers Thursday evening in a now-deleted tweet, the news organization reported. ”Shucky darn I can't do business with PayPal anymore. What am I gonna do with myself? I think I will survive. Seems like some people want to cancel me because I'm trying to get donations from PayPal. Big Woop.”
Prior to PayPal closing her account, Ryan spoke of her arrest to her followers and shared that she has to go to trial in Washington D.C. for the misdemeanor. ”I believe I was wrongfully arrested and charged and we have to fight for my freedom and decl [sic] my name."
Ryan was one of more than 125 protesters who have been arrested for federal crimes for allegedly participating in the Capitol riots, according to the Program on Extremism at George Washington University. CBS News reported that charging documents reveal that Ryan posted a 21-minute Facebook video of her walking with a group towards the Capitol building. In a now-deleted post, Ryan filmed herself entering the building through the Rotunda and saying, "Life or death, it doesn't matter. Here we go.”
Ryan who called Jan. 6 “one of the best days of my life,” said in an interview with CBS News' Dallas affiliate that she asked former President Donald Trump for a pardon, claiming she went to Washington D.C. because she was "doing what he asked us to do.”
"I feel like I was basically following my president," Ryan said. "I was following what we were called to do. He asked us to fly there. He asked us to be there.”
Ryan did not get the pardon she had hoped for.
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