Court grants Capitol riot suspect permission to vacation in Mexico

A Texan florist who boasted about breaking down Nancy Pelosi's door during the Capitol riot, this week asked a federal judge permission to leave the country on vacation later this month – and got it. Jenny Cudd, who ran for mayor of Midland, sought permission to travel to a Mexican beach resort for a prepaid "work-related bonding retreat" with her employees and their spouses from February 18 to 21, reports USA Today. Cudd is currently on pretrial release after being charged with two misdemeanor offenses—entering a federal building without permission and engaging in disorderly conduct—and as per the terms of her bail, she is not able to travel outside the area.

"Prior to the alleged offense at issue, Ms. Cudd planned and prepaid for a weekend retreat with her employees," Cudd's attorneys stated in their court filing Monday. "This is a work-related bonding retreat for employees and their spouses." The court further noted that Cudd — a small business owner in Midland, Texas — has no prior criminal history and has remained in contact with her attorney and pretrial service officer, who had no objection to her proposed travel plan. The request was approved by a U.S. magistrate who ordered that Cudd's pretrial travel restrictions be amended to allow the four-day trip.

Cudd was one of many who confirmed participation in the riot on social media with a now-viral Facebook video, where she said: "We didn't knock down any statues, we didn't vandalize anything - but we did break down Nancy Pelosi's office door." According to Daily Mail, she has since insisted that she meant everyone inside the Capitol when she said "we" and denies doing anything violent or damaging property. Cudd claims that she didn't personally go into Pelosi's office or see the breaking down of the door, which her attorney, Don Flanary, said is reflected in her misdemeanor charges.

"She's basically just been charged with being there," he told reporters. "She did not break into Nancy Pelosi's office. She didn't go anywhere inside or near it. We're pretty confident that the cameras will show she was only in the public portions of the Capitol." Cudd — who came last in a three-way mayoral race in Midland, Texas, in November 2019 — was one of several political candidates who took part in the siege last month. Current mayor Patrick Payton condemned her involvement in the riot, saying: "It saddens me. And that's just as far as I'm willing to comment on that. It saddens me."

Cudd, however, does not regret her actions. In her since-deleted Facebook video, she repeatedly referred to the rioters as "patriots" and said that the MAGA mob was a "bunch of red-blooded American patriots that actually give a s*** about our country and keeping it. The government serves at the consent of the governed. Well, the governed are p****d off, and the governed don't trust them. So yeah, I'm proud of everything that I was a part of today, and I'll be proud of everything that I'm a part of at the next one, and we'll see what happens at that."

On the other hand, Cudd's infamy on social media has negatively impacted her floral business, Becky's Flowers. She told Texas ABC affiliate NewsWest 9, that she received "seven different death threats" and that her business was bombarded with 500 negative reviews on Google from across the country rather than from local patrons. "So what they're trying to do is cancel me because I stood up for what I believe in and I can tell you this it's – and it's what I've told everybody – I would do it again in a heartbeat," she said.