An Orange County woman who gained notoriety for an online video in which she professed her affection for the far-right extremist Proud Boys made her first court appearance this week on charges related to her alleged role in the Jan. 6 riot in Washington D.C..
Stephanie Baez, an Orange resident, pleaded not guilty Monday to federal criminal charges that included violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds and entering and remaining there without lawful authority, according to court records.
According to a criminal complaint unsealed in June, an anonymous tip led the FBI to investigate footage Baez is alleged to have posted of herself at the Capitol during the riot, along with a video in which she told an interviewer, “I wanna find me a Proud Boy,” referencing the far-right extremist group.
An FBI agent with the Orange County Joint Terrorism Task Force in a statement filed with the court wrote that video footage inside the Capitol on Jan. 6 showed Baez inside the building during the riot. In screenshots included with the filing, a woman the agent identifies as Baez is wearing a distinctive black T-shirt with a photo of the author George Orwell and a caption reading “Boy did i call it or what?”
After a Twitter user included a purported photo of Baez in a lineup of “insurrectionists” leaving the Capitol building, Baez shared the picture with other users through her Instagram account, the FBI agent wrote.
“It’s my proudest moment,” Baez was quoted as writing on Instagram about the photo. “Just sucks they used such a horrible pic, I want to send them the one of me in my USA bikini and be like ‘here, please use this at least lol.’”
Later on Jan. 6, after Congress returned to session, Baez allegedly wrote to another Instagram user that it was “time to get back and storm the building.”
In a response to an Instagram user who wrote that “storming capitols is a legitimate form of protest” and thanked Baez for “standing up against pure evil and the establishment,” Baez allegedly responded by writing “anytime! Honestly, what have we gained by following the rules while they cheat? Besides, American citizens are allowed in the capitol building anytime congress is meeting to speak, and I didn’t break anything so I didn’t do anything wrong.”
In a later FBI interview, Baez said she traveled to Washington D.C. to attend a rally by then-President Donald Trump and to look at medical schools in the area, according to the agent’s statement. After Trump’s speech, Baez said she walked to the Capitol, where she claimed she believed she had the authority to enter after looking up the building’s hours online, the agent wrote.
Baez and her attorney could not be reached for comment.
According to court records, Baez has been released on her own recognizance pending trial.
