Tampa Bay singer arrested in Capitol riot
Audrey Southard was the subject of a Tampa Bay Times story that detailed her appearance in a video that shows an angry mob storming the Capitol.
TAMPA — Federal authorities on Wednesday arrested Audrey Ann Southard on charges related to her alleged participation in the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol.
Southard, a vocal coach and piano teacher from Spring Hill, entered a Tampa federal courtroom Wednesday afternoon with arms crossed. She sat quietly at a defense table, gazing through reading glasses at court paperwork.
A judge read a list of nine crimes that had been alleged in a complaint against her. They include assault on a federal officer, obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder, obstruction of justice or congress, disorderly conduct in a restricted building or grounds, and engaging in a physical act of violence on capitol grounds.
Southard in January was the subject of a
Tampa Bay Times story,
which detailed her appearance in a video that shows an angry mob storming the Capitol halls. In one bit of footage, she can be heard screaming profanities at police. The story also referenced her remarkable musical talents that have earned her accolades and, once, a showcase in New York’s Carnegie Hall.
A statement of facts accompanying the criminal complaint refers to her as Audrey Ann Southard-Rumsey and includes a detailed chronology of the FBI’s probe of her activities on Jan. 6. It references Facebook and Twitter posts that included photos of her standing outside the Capitol.
“Standing in front of the Capitol ready to take it,” read one tweet. “As soon as we get enough people up here. To run the Capitol building. It’s going to be fun.”
An unnamed witness confirmed traveling from Florida in a rental car with Southard and two other people on Jan. 5. They rented a condo in Williamsburg, Va., and drove into Washington, D.C. the next morning, according to the document.