Federal judge finds Jan. 6 defendant 'followed President Trump's instructions'

Then-President Donald Trump's "instructions" led members of a crowd to attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, according to a federal judge.

In a ruling on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly found that Trump supporter Danean MacAndrew was guilty on four counts related to Jan. 6.

"After MacAndrew read then-President Trump's announcement that he would hold a rally on January 6, 2021 that 'w[ould] be wild,' she made plans to attend, excited to hear then-President Trump speak and to protest against the 2020 Presidential Election," Kollar-Kotelly wrote.

The judge continued: "And at the 'Stop the Steal' rally, then-President Trump eponymously exhorted his supporters to, in fact, stop the steal by marching to the Capitol. Defendant marched to the Capitol where, she testified, she understood that only Congress had the power to fix the election's outcome and that Congress was likely in session while she was around and in the Capitol."

Kollar-Kotelly suggested that the crowd had acted at the behest of Trump.

"Having followed then-President Trump's instructions, which were in line with her stated desires, the Court therefore finds that Defendant intended her presence to be disruptive to Congressional business," the order said.

"[H]eeding the call of former President Trump, she continued onwards to 'stop the steal,'" Kollar-Kotelly concluded. "For her participation in the insurrection of January 6, the Court finds Danean MacAndrew GUILTY."