“I was just there to let my voice be heard and document the events,” Ryan said in an interview with HousingWire on Tuesday. “I was not part of the violence.”
Social media users and news outlets captured Ryan, wearing a red-and-blue stocking cap with “TRUMP” emblazoned on it, as part of a mob rushing the doors of the Capitol, as well as a photo of her posing by a broken window.
“Window at the Capital. And if the news doesn’t stop lying about us we’re going to come after their studios next,” read her now since-deleted tweet.
She also posted a livestream video on the private jet she flew in to Washington D.C. where she said “they want to steal the election, they want to steal everything.”
Her interview with HousingWire and statement on Facebook, however, took different tones.
“I do not condone the violence that occurred on January 6, 2020 and I am truly heartbroken for the people who have lost their lives,” she wrote. “Hatred and violence toward each other are not going to solve our country’s issues. As a nation, we need to come together – Republican, Democrat and Independent – and have an open and honest discussion about the issues in our country and resolve our issues in peace.”
She told HousingWire she “is a patriot who loves America and is very concerned.” She also acknowledged that she is getting support from other Republicans and she expects her company to grow when “everything dies down.”
“People can see through the lies of the media trying to demonize Trump supporters,” she said. “Americans are concerned about America and election fraud. The media is gaslighting America.”