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Emily Hernandez: Jan. 6 rioter who caused deadly DUI crash while driving drunk goes from pardon to prison

Writer's picture: January 6th NewsJanuary 6th News

A Missouri woman who gained notoriety for stealing Nancy Pelosi’s nameplate during the Jan. 6 Capitol attack has gone from a presidential pardon to a prison sentence. Emily Hernandez, 25, was sentenced Wednesday for causing a fatal drunk-driving crash while driving on the wrong side of the highway.


Emily Hernandez

Judge Ryan Helfrich of Franklin County handed Hernandez a 10-year sentence for the death of 32-year-old Victoria Wilson on Jan. 5, 2022. An additional seven-year sentence was imposed for injuring Wilson’s husband, Ryan E. Wilson, who was in the car with her that night. Both sentences will be served concurrently.


According to court records, Hernandez had a blood alcohol content of .20%—more than double the legal limit—when she drove on the wrong side of I-44, colliding with Wilson’s vehicle just after 7 p.m.


“What I did was ungodly, and I will live with that shame for the rest of my life,” Hernandez said at her sentencing.


Wilson’s family acknowledged the sentencing as justice but said it could never fill the void left by their loss. “Nothing will bring her back,” said Wilson’s mother, Tonie Donaldson.


“She made a choice, and now she has to live with it.”


Hernandez, who previously pleaded guilty to entering the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, had been pardoned by President Donald Trump last week, along with other rioters. Originally facing multiple charges, she pleaded guilty in January 2022 to a misdemeanor and was sentenced to 30 days in jail.


The fatal crash occurred just days before her scheduled guilty plea.


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