Sandra Weyer stands at center-right in this partially redacted photo shared in a federal arrest affidavit.
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Mechanicsburg woman arrested for alleged role in Capitol attack
The FBI says Sandra Weyer allegedly filmed an assault on a New York Times photographer
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Brett Sholtis
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Sandra Weyer stands at center-right in this partially redacted photo shared in a federal arrest affidavit.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated Jan. 29 with a comment from state Rep. Frank Ryan submitted after publication.
(Harrisburg) — Sandra Weyer of Mechanicsburg was arrested Monday morning for allegedly filming an assault on a news photographer while unlawfully inside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot that left five people dead.
The 57-year-old woman faces six federal charges, including disorderly and disruptive conduct, violent entry and interfering with an official proceeding. It is unclear if she has an attorney.
An FBI arrest affidavit states Weyer “not only unlawfully entered the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, but also engaged in obstructive conduct while in the U.S. Capitol.”
Once inside the Capitol building, Weyer crossed paths with several men who were assaulting a woman they had identified as a New York Times photographer, the affidavit states.
U.S. Capitol surveillance cameras allegedly caught Weyer recording the assault.
FBI
Sandra Weyer, wearing a red sweatshirt in the lower right, is seen with a cellphone in hand inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
After the journalist got up, Weyer yelled “F—g traitor, get the f—k out!” and “get her out, mace her!” the document states.
When asked about the incident later, Weyer allegedly said the “woman who was screaming in the Capitol was, um, anti-Trump, let’s put it that way, that’s why they removed her.”
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In this screen capture from a federal arrest affidavit, Sandra Weyer, at right, stands for a portrait with Pa. state Rep. Frank Ryan, center, and Pauline Bauer, at left.
Weyer allegedly deleted her Facebook account a few days later. The FBI provided messages sent from that account.
“I didn’t see any Trump supporters rioting or being violent,” Weyer allegedly wrote. “Now that doesn’t mean that didn’t happen but I only saw Patriots that are sick and tired of being lied to and having the vote stolen from us. We may have broken through the barricades and the doors to the Capitol…but I know that my group was not violent or rioting and I didn’t see any other Patriots rioting or being violent.”
Pa. Republican lawmakers and the U.S. Capitol attack
As part of WITF’s commitment to standing with facts, and because the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was an attempt to overthrow representative democracy in America, we are marking elected officials’ connections to the insurrection. Read more about this commitment. Rep. Frank Ryan (R-Lebanon) is among the several dozen state lawmakers who supported Donald Trump’s 2020 election-fraud lie by signing a letter urging members of Congress to object to Pennsylvania’s electoral votes going to Joe Biden. This supported the election-fraud lie, which led to the attack on the Capitol.
As part of WITF’s commitment to standing with facts, and because the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was an attempt to overthrow representative democracy in America, we are marking elected officials’ connections to the insurrection. Read more about this commitment. Rep. Frank Ryan (R-Lebanon) is among the several dozen state lawmakers who supported Donald Trump’s 2020 election-fraud lie by signing a letter urging members of Congress to object to Pennsylvania’s electoral votes going to Joe Biden. This supported the election-fraud lie, which led to the attack on the Capitol.
Weyer had been on the FBI’s radar for months. A federal agent identified her in an investigation that led to the arrest of Pauline Bauer, of Kane, Pennsylvania, in May. A photo from that FBI statement shows Bauer and Weyer posing for a portrait with Republican state Rep. Frank Ryan of Lebanon County outside the Pa. state capitol.
In an emailed statement provided by Ryan’s office, the lawmaker said the photo is from Swearing In day on Jan. 5. Ryan said he has no relationship with Weyer or Bauer.
“Peaceful protest is critical to our Republic,” Ryan said. “That said, I do not and have not supported the actions of January 6.”
More than 500 people have been charged in the Capitol attack, including about 50 from Pennsylvania.
NPR’s Investigative and News Apps teams have published a database of everyone arrested so far in connection with the Capitol Riot. This area of reporting is ongoing, and the database is being updated.
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