Who is Jennifer Ruth Parks? Kansas woman held by FBI after daughter bragged about her role in Capitol riots

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Who is Jennifer Ruth Parks?

As per court documents, Parks attended former President Donald Trump’s “Stop The Steal” rally in Washington, DC. Security footage from inside the Capitol reportedly shows Parks entering the Capitol building and remaining there between 30 minutes and one hour.

The FBI reportedly interviewed Parks on January 17. As per an affidavit from the US Department of Justice, “According to Parks, she attended the rally in Washington DC on January 6, 2021. Parks believed she was attending a peaceful rally in support of President Donald Trump.” 

Parks, as per the statement, along with Esther Schwemmer, entered the US Capitol for “thirty minutes to one hour” after the doors were broken. “Parks entered the Capitol Building through the front lower door with no stairs. Parks proceeded up a round staircase to the second floor and observed groups of people praying and singing. Parks sung the US national anthem in a group on the second floor of the building. Parks attempted to exit the Capitol Building through the front door and was told by a police officer not to exit there,” the statement said. 

“Parks was directed by another police officer to leave down a hallway, and she exited the building at that time. PARKS was wearing a dark green jacket, a green backpack, and jeans,” it added. Schwemmer reportedly told authorities that she and Parks walked to the front of the Capitol and no police officer told them to stop. They saw the open doors and entered the building. Schwemmer described the building as “messy and smelled bad.” Schwemmer said when a police officer told them to leave the building, they complied.

The person who tipped the FBI reportedly shared a text message screenshot between Parks' daughter and an unknown individual where Parks' daughter wrote: “So depressed over all of the cheating in the election right now. Mom and her friend went to Washington for the March. Wish I could have gone too. Lol.” Parks' daughter further wrote: “We should all be climbing over those walls. They pushed us too far.”

Capitol Police Officer Brian D Sicknick died after trying to defend the Capitol from rioters. One Capitol Police officer and one DC police officer who were responding on the scene reportedly killed themselves later. Gus Papathanasiou, the head of the Capitol Police officers’ union said earlier this year that about 140 officers were injured during the insurrection. “I have officers who were not issued helmets prior to the attack who have sustained head injuries,” Papathanasiou said. “One officer has two cracked ribs and two smashed spinal discs and another was stabbed with a metal fence stake, to name some of the injuries.”