Iowa woman sentenced for Capitol insurrection participation

DES MOINES — An Iowa woman who entered the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection was sentenced Monday to five months in prison.

Deborah Sandoval, 56, pleaded guilty in December to entering a restricted building. In exchange for her plea, several other counts were dropped.

Sandoval and her son, Salvador Sandoval Jr., of Ankeny, were arrested in February 2021. Prosecutors said they were among a mob that broke through police lines and stormed the Capitol, the Des Moines Register reported.

She admitted that before Jan. 6, she posted messages on Facebook about traveling to the event, saying that “if the electors don’t elect we will be forced into civil war.”

Prosecutors said she entered the Capitol through a door that had been forced open and remained in the building for about 24 minutes.

After a two-day trial in December, Salvador Sandoval Jr. was convicted on 12 counts related to the insurrection. He is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 7.