As a longtime Philadelphia police officer working in the Background Investigations Unit, part of Jennifer Gugger's job was to evaluate the social-media activity of new recruits to the force.
But after Gugger, an apparent QAnon adherent, traveled to Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, her own social media posts became the subject of intense scrutiny.
Despite a subsequent internal affairs investigation, Gugger remains on the force one year later while she awaits a disciplinary hearing, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Friday.
On Jan. 6, Gugger posted on Facebook from DC about having beers with "fellow patriots," using the hashtag #StoptheSteal. Hours after the insurrection, Gugger replied to Vice President Mike Pence on Twitter, accusing him of selling his “soul to the devil.”
READ MORE: Trump complains that the media won't talk about how big of a crowd he drew on January 6th
Two days later, she wrote to Pence on Twitter, “You’re a traitor and a cabal operative and pedophile!” apparently referencing QAnon conspiracy theories.
A few months before the insurrection, Gugger had changed her Facebook cover photo to the letter "Q" with lightning striking the Washington Monument above the words “The Storm has arrived," the Inquirer reported. On LinkedIn, her profile picture is a photo of her and former Philadelphia Police Inspector Joseph Bologna, who is awaiting trial for assaulting a protester with a baton in 2020.
"Gugger’s presence in Washington on Jan. 6 and her increasingly unhinged social-media activity triggered an Internal Affairs investigation the week after the insurrection. She was reassigned and her gun was taken away," the Inquirer reported.
But a year later, Gugger remains on "restricted duty." A police spokesperson told the newspaper that while at least one department employee was in DC on Jan. 6, an internal affairs investigation found no evidence that anyone took part in the insurrection or entered unauthorized areas.
Gugger, a detective and 33-year veteran of the department, worked prior to being reassigned in the unit whose mission is to “exclude candidates who have demonstrated character traits that are inconsistent with the highest values of the profession,” according to the Inquirer.
"Part of her job was to evaluate the social media activity of police recruits, which made her own posts particularly alarming," the newspaper reported. "Gugger on Thursday responded to a text with only 'no comment.'"
.@PhillyInquirer reports that local \nDetective Jennifer Gugger was removed from her position in the police department\u2019s Recruit Background Investigations Unit after Internal Affairs received tips she\u2019s been at the Wed riot\nThis was a recent FB post of hers\nhttps://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/philly-detective-reassigned-trump-insurrection-capitol-20210111.html\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/5VZBvblrDR— Alex Thompson (@Alex Thompson) 1610335213
