California woman accused of leading Pledge of Allegiance on Capitol steps arrested on J6 charges after appearance on Kill Tony podcast

After appearing on the Kill Tony podcast discussing her story from January 6, 2021, elected director of the Santa Ynez Valley Community Services District in California, Karen Jones was arrested on Dec. 14 for citing the pledge of allegiance and entering the capital rotunda. 

During the June podcast episode, Davis was asked why they thought she was "a white supremacist." She said, "They accused me of leading the pledge of allegiance on the capital steps on January 6." 

One of the hosts asked if she was there, and she responded "I can not confirm or deny." Later in the interview, Jones was asked how close she got to inside the capital. She said, "I would never go in an unpublic place, I would never go in a private office... it is a public building and I would never go in a restricted area." 

In a criminal complaint filed on Nov. 28 and obtained by the Santa Barbra Independent, the FBI alleges that Jones grabbed a microphone on the East Steps of the Captial and said, "Hi, I'm Karen Jones. I'm from Calabasas, California - Home of the Reagan Ranch - and I'm very proud to be here." 

"I was in the first wave up the stairs. I lucked out," she added. "Thank you to all the people who carried me in the crowd. Took a little pepper spray. I didn't think I'd ever be sprayed by cops in my own country. I support the police, but I would like everyone to please join me in saying the Pledge of Allegiance." 

According to the document, Karen and her husband Robert Jones entered the building at 3:01 pm, gathered with the others in the rotunda, then exited the building at 3:28 pm the same way they went in. 

The Joneses were each charged with entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a capital building or grounds, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a capital building. 

On Thursday, US District Attorney Matthew Graves suggested that those who went onto Capital grounds on Jan. 6, 2021 while not entering the building could also face prosecution. He stated: "We have used our prosecutorial discretion to primarily focus on those who entered the building or those who engaged in violent or corrupt conduct on Capitol grounds, but if a person knowingly entered a restricted area without authorization, they had already committed a federal crime."  

Human Events senior editor Jack Posobiec noted in a post on X, "He is talking about the public lawn of the Capitol."