Florida Woman Accused of Assaulting Officer on Jan. 6 Released on Bond

Audrey Ann Southard-Rumsey (L) in a selfie photograph in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, and inside the Capitol clashing with a law enforcement officer on the same day. (Facebook via FBI; FBI)

A Florida woman who was arrested this week for allegedly assaulting a law enforcement officer in Washington on Jan. 6 was released on bond.

Authorities say Audrey Ann Southard-Rumsey, 52, of Spring Hill, entered the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 before shouting at U.S. Capitol Police officers to “tell Pelosi we are coming for that [expletive],” according to court documents.

Southard-Rumsey also allegedly yelled, “There’s a hundred thousand of us, what’s it going to be?”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was in the building but was escorted outside after the Capitol was breached.

During the woman’s interaction with officers, authorities said, she obtained a flagpole and pressed it against an officer’s chest. She started pushing the officer, causing him to fall backward and strike his head on the base of a marble statue.

Southard-Rumsey was charged with obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, disorderly conduct in the Capitol, and assault on a federal officer or employee, among other charges.

The FBI started investigating the Florida resident when it received a tip to its online submission portal. The tipster said that the woman used her Facebook profile to post an image showing her in front of the Capitol, with the caption, “DC Taking it back!!”

In this image from video, a woman identified by the FBI as Audrey Ann Southard-Rumsey enters the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (FBI)

Southard-Rumsey also posted on Twitter a live feed of her outside the Capitol preparing to enter the building. A known associate later told investigators that they traveled from Florida in a rental car with Southard-Rumsey and two other people to the Williamsburg, Virginia area, where they rented a condo before continuing onto to Washington on Jan. 6.

When the group failed to get near The Ellipse, where then-President Donald Trump was speaking, they headed toward the Capitol.

Surveillance video showed Southard-Rumsey enter the Capitol, according to a criminal complaint. One image showed her clashing with a U.S. Capitol Police officer. That officer told the FBI that he felt like he was being trampled after he went down and hit his head.

A search warrant yielded a mobile device linked to Southard-Rumsey which placed her in Washington on Jan. 6.

Southard-Rumsey made her initial appearance in federal court in Tampa on Wednesday. She was released on $50,000 signature bond, according to local media.

Footage from a local broadcaster showed the defendant decline to answer questions by running once outside the courthouse. Southard-Rumsey did not respond to a Facebook message. The court docket did not appear to list a lawyer for her.

Southard-Rumsey’s Facebook page contains no posts from January. Her social media identifies her as a music teacher who formerly worked at Walt Disney World.

Federal prosecutors say about 440 people were arrested on charges related to the Jan. 6 Capitol breach in the first 120 days following the breach, including over 125 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.