SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A Sioux Falls woman has been charged for her participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol in Washington D.C., according to the U.S. District Court.
Amy Rebekah Willis was among the rioters inside the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, court documents said. “Willis and the other rioters in the Crypt portion of the Capitol surged forward breaching the USCP police line and forcing the officers to retreat,” a court document said.
At one point, Willis physically resisted being removed from the building by law officers, according to court documents.
A South Dakota resident contacted the FBI after hearing Willis bragging about being inside the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021, court documents said. The resident was inside the business Willis owned at the time.
Willis is charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restrict building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building or grounds and parading, demonstrating for picketing in a Capitol building.
Willis was contacted by FBI agents at her home in March 2022 and May 2024. Agent interviews confirmed Willis is the same person show in video footage from Jan. 6, 2021. She appeared in federal court Thursday in Sioux Falls.
Photos and video included in the court documents support the charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Court documents also say Willis posted information related to the Jan. 6 incidents on her herbalist retail sales business’s website.
Willis has been the owner of a herbal retail store in Sioux Falls since 2011, according to her business website.
This is a developing story.
