MAGA rioter avoids jail time because she wore ‘a tutu' and not 'military gear’

A Capitol rioter avoided jail time on Tuesday after a Trump-appointed federal judge noted that she "showed up in a tutu, not—as many did—in military gear."

Rasha Abual-Ragheb declared that "civil war is coming" on social media days after the Jan. 6 insurrection, and prosecutors sought a punishment of one month in jail, Insider reports. However, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols instead sentenced Abual-Ragheb to two months of home confinement and 36 months of probation.

"During a nearly 90-minute virtual hearing, federal prosecutor Michael Liebman highlighted social media posts in which Abual-Ragheb put her political advocacy in starkly violent terms. After her home state of New Jersey went to now-President Joe Biden by a wide margin, she wrote on Facebook, 'I won't stop. They have to kill me,'" according to Insider. "Her defense lawyer, Elita Amato, stressed that Abual-Ragheb was inside the Capitol for only about two minutes and did not cause any damage or commit any acts of violence."

Amato also told the judge, in arguing for leniency, that Abual-Ragheb "has been stressed and grinding her teeth ... and had to go see a dentist," according to NBC investigative reporter Scott MacFarlane.

"Abual says police did not turn her away or give her a sign she shouldn't be in Capitol. She says she really wanted to see the 'beautiful Capitol' for the first time," MacFarlane reports. "Abual said she didn't know she broke a law until agents came to arrest her. She says she couldn't even hurt a bug… and wouldn't try to take over the country."

Judge Nichols reportedly said he was troubled by Abual-Ragheb's social media posts — adding that while her conduct was "unacceptable," it was "relatively mild in comparison to others."

"Nichols said it was not appropriate to 'infer the very worst intentions' behind the social media posts, and he sympathized with Abual-Ragheb's assertion that she has a limited grasp of English," Insider reports.

"I don't think it's reasonable to conclude she was planning to be an active participant in a civil war," the judge said.