Jan. 6 rioters are attempting to cash in on their insurrectionist infamy

Ever since he was declared the loser of the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump's political fundraising machinery has been operating non-stop. He's profited off of false claims of widespread fraud in the election and disavowed any responsibility for rabble-rousing his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Many of those who heeded his call to arms and tried to halt Congressional certification of President Joe Biden's Electoral College victory now are using their status as insurrectionist defendants to emulate their hero and try to make a buck. Case in point: Jenna Ryan.

As CNN reports, Ryan, a real estate agent from Texas, pleaded guilty to illegally protesting in the Capitol in August and spent two months in jail. The judge who presided over her case told her that part of the reason she received jail time was because she leveraged her criminal charges to promote her personal brand.

Following her sentencing Ryan started a Substack newsletter about going to jail. Her posts included "Tips for J6 Short-Term Prisoners" and "Beauty for Ashes: What I Learned after 60 Days in Federal Prison."

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Initially she claimed that she "did nothing wrong." But as CNN notes, "During the course of her case, she participated in multiple national news interviews and tweeted about her proceedings. Then, at the time of her sentencing, she blamed a media 'smear campaign' for her 60-day sentence."

She now is directing her newly developed online following to support her real estate company. Her most active social media account, Twitter, is equal parts claiming she is a victim of cancel culture and advertising houses she is selling. She has garnered more than 20,000 followers.

Because of that following, Ryan says her business is booming. "I'm able to sell houses simply because we have so many patriotic Americans that are choosing to use someone that the media is trying to cancel, and that Big Tech is trying to cancel," Ryan said in one TikTok video, adding that attempts to cancel her are "actually backfiring" because "people are actually using me because of what happened."