Gina Bisignano, who became notorious as the "Beverly Hills insurrectionist" after the Justice Department came down hard on her for her part in the Jan 6 riot at the Capitol, is headed back to court again and her legal situation may have been complicated by her insistence of violating the terms of her pre-trial release.
According to a report from Rolling Stone's Samuel Braslow, the former owner of a pricey Beverly Hill spa will be back in court after withdrawing an earlier plea that followed her arrest just days after the Capitol attack.
During the Capitol siege Bisignano was filmed using a megaphone and imploring members of the crowd, "Everybody, we need gas masks, we need weapons. We need strong, angry patriots to help our boys, they don't want to leave. We need protection."
In her earlier arrangement with federal prosecutors, "she pleaded guilty to four misdemeanors and two felonies and agreed to cooperate with investigators and the Department of Justice in return for special considerations at sentencing," Rolling Stone's Braslow wrote, but she soon ran afoul of restrictions placed upon her.
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According to the new report, she made an appearance in Washington D.C. on March 1 to provide testimony in a related case, with Braslow writing, "Bisignano took a detour to a vigil held near the jail where several dozen alleged insurrectionists were awaiting their trials. There, she shared details of her testimony in an ongoing trial, spoke with a convicted Jan. 6 felon, and admitted to hanging out with other Jan. 6 participants. All of these were violations of the terms of her pre-trial release, and all of them — again — were caught on camera."
That, in turn led to her being placed on what Braslow termed "a particularly lenient version of house arrest as she awaits trial."
Asked for comment about the turn of events, Bisignano’s lawyer Charles Peruto stated, “Any comment I give would just add to the over exposure this defendant has received. Therefore, I feel it’s best to do all of my talking in court.”
As for that court date, Bisignano's decision to back out of her agreement with prosecutors could come back to haunt her.
"With questions surrounding Bisignano’s cooperation, in a May 4 hearing concerning her pretrial violations and plea deal, Judge Nichols allowed Bisignano to back out of the guilty plea for felony obstruction of an official proceeding. Bisignano’s usefulness as a witness had also come into question, with the judge presiding over a separate case in which she provided testimony describing Bisignano as a 'hot mess' and one of the worst witnesses she had ever seen take the stand," the report states before adding, "Ironically, the apparent latitude afforded to Bisignano by her judge has now placed her in more legal jeopardy, with a guilty verdict potentially delivering a higher sentence than she would have received as part of her deal with prosecutors."
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