Illinois

Illinois woman, recent U.S. citizen arrested by FBI for allegedly storming US Capitol on January 6

Published

1 year ago

September 13, 2023

Illinois woman, recent U.S. citizen arrested by FBI for allegedly storming US Capitol on January 6

CHICAGO (WLS) — An Illinois woman who says she recently became a U.S. citizen has been arrested for allegedly storming the Capitol on January 6, the ABC 7 I-Team has learned.

Nhi Ngoc Mai Le was arrested by Chicago FBI agents last Friday after the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia filed four misdemeanor charges against her, including knowingly entering a restricted building without lawful authority, and disorderly and disruptive conduct.

Le is the 41st person from Illinois charged in connection with the capitol breach and effort to stop the certification of the 2020 Presidential Election.

As Capitol security was overrun by the mob of rioters that infamous day, FBI agents allege Le was in the thick of it, according to Capitol security footage and postings by Le herself on social media.

Court filings obtained by the I-Team reveal Le’s path to the Capitol started when she traveled from Chicago to Atlanta, Georgia, on Jan. 4, 2021, to attend a rally for former President Donald Trump.

That same day, agents obtained a post from Le on her personal Facebook page, which according to authorities, may shed light on her motivation for traveling to the Capitol days later.

In the post, Le equates the stolen election myth to people in recent years taking to the streets of Saigon, Vietnam, protesting the “special zone [act]… protect[ing] the Hoang Sa Truong Sa.”

“The same thing is happening in the United States of America, my second home and paradise,” Le posted in Vietnamese, which was translated to English in the court filing. “A free country is under attack by underground forces. Now I’m only contributing a small part, doing the least I can to save America.”

“Fight to the end- free or die,” Le allegedly posted. “As much as you love the country, you hate the communists. See you all in Washington, D.C. 01/06.”

Agents said Le then traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally, where security footage and social media posts show her breaching the Capitol’s Parliamentarian Door and entering Senate offices.

Copies of group chat records obtained by agents show Le “told her friends that she climbed a wall to reach the Capitol building, that she was pepper-sprayed, and that another individual was ‘shot dead’ while she was inside the building,” according to the FBI’s Statement of Facts.

Agents also allege Le posted short videos of herself outside and inside of the Capitol, including next to the damaged Parliamentarian Door before it was breached and inside the Brumidi Corridor.

Days after the Capitol siege, an anonymous user reported Le’s Facebook postings to the FBI, leading agents to interview her in April 2021.

Agents said Le initially acknowledged attending the rally but “denied entering the U.S. Capitol building on that day,” according to the FBI’s Statement of Facts in the case.

After agents uncovered videos and photos of Le at and inside the Capitol building, the court filing states they returned to her residence for a second interview in February 2022.

This time, agents said Le admitted to entering the Capitol.

Reached by phone on Wednesday, Le told the I-Team she knew nothing of the criminal case against her, despite having been arrested last Friday.

A federal public defender assigned to Le also did not respond to the I-Team’s emailed request for comment.

State records show Le operates an Aurora nail salon. An employee who answered the phone at the salon said Le wasn’t at work on Wednesday.

Even after Jan. 6, and following FBI questioning, Lee became a U.S. citizen, according to a post on her personal Facebook page.

The post, dated Dec. 3, 2021, shows Le standing next to a federal judge in what appears to be a naturalization ceremony, though the location of the ceremony was not disclosed.

In the comments, Le’s followers congratulated her, with Le replying how important the naturalization process is and the pride she felt after becoming an American citizen.

Over the phone, Le did not respond to the I-Team’s questions about her recent naturalization.

ABC7 Chief Legal Analyst Gil Soffer tells the I-Team in theory, Le’s citizenship could be impacted by the criminal case, but it doesn’t happen very often.

“When she was naturalized, she had to assert or attest to the fact that she had good moral character, and that she has an attachment to the Constitution that you’d be faithful to the Constitution,” Soffer said. “The government could seek to revoke her naturalization on the theory that she lied about those qualifications.”

But, Soffer acknowledged, “This is not the kind of case that screams out for revocation of naturalization.”

According to the Department of Justice, Le is among the more than 1,146 defendants charged in relation to the Capitol riot.

Le’s first court appearance by video is scheduled for Sept. 19 before Magistrate Judge Robin Meriweather of the District of Columbia.

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Related Topics:fbi Featured jan 6 january 6 arrest january 6 riot Nhi Ngoc Mai Le us capitol us capitol arrest

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Illinois

Illinois Congressman recalls Jan. 6 attack 4 years later as local defendants seek pardons from Trump

Published

4 hours ago

January 6, 2025

Press Room

Illinois Congressman recalls Jan. 6 attack 4 years later as local defendants seek pardons from Trump

CHICAGO (WLS) — Historically, the date presidential elections are certified are mundane. That is, until four years ago, when it meant certifying a loss that the 45th president falsely claims did not happen.

It is an image now burned into American history: Thousands of armed, flag-wielding Donald Trump supporters swarming and scaling the scaffolding of the United States Capitol, beckoned there by the then-president.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

As the mob shattered the windows and stormed the halls of Congress, U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider hid with colleagues on the gallery floor, readying a gas mask.

Four years to the day, Congress passed through steel security gates and returned to session Monday to again execute that exact same process. This time, it was to certify President-elect Trump’s return to the White House.

“We always need to remember this day for the fragility of our democracy,” Rep. Schneider, D-Illinois, told the I-Team.

In the largest investigation in Department of Justice history, nearly 1600 Americans have been convicted of crimes connected to the Capitol insurrection. More than 600 have faced charges for assault or interfering with law enforcement; 53 of those charged traveled to the Capitol from Illinois.

Trump himself faced federal charges for conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election.

With his 2024 reelection now certified by the candidate he defeated and the federal charges brought against the former president dropped, Trump has promised sweeping pardons for the convicted insurrectionists he has repeatedly referred to as patriots.

Gil Soffer, a former federal prosecutor and ABC7’s chief legal analyst, explained what that could mean.

“The pardons, they don’t expunge the record. They don’t make it as if people who have already been convicted were never convicted, but it restores their civil liberties. As to the vast number of people who could still be charged if he, if he offers a walk, a broad pardon, they can never be charged,” Soffer told the I-Team.

There are dozens of Illinois defendants, convicted of January 6-related crimes, hoping for pardons. Some who have not been charged yet are hoping the DOJ will drop their case altogether.

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Illinois

Illinois Coach Brad Underwood Reacts to One ‘Bonehead’ Play vs. Washington

Published

11 hours ago

January 6, 2025

Press Room

Illinois Coach Brad Underwood Reacts to One ‘Bonehead’ Play vs. Washington

The shots were clanking, the lead was dwindling and very little seemed to be going Illinois’ way as the minutes ticked off the clock in its matchup with Washington on Sunday in Seattle. Then, somehow, circumstances took a turn for the worse.

Clinging to a 75-73 lead with just over a minute left in the game, the Illini hit the floor out of a 30-second timeout with a plan to control the damage of a squandered 17-point lead. Trouble was, they couldn’t get past the plan’s first step: safely inbound the ball.

When Illinois swingman Tre White – positioned in the high sideline corner with the ball – zigged, guard Kasparas Jakucionis – his intended target – zagged. The result was a bad pass into the backcourt and a footrace to the ball that Jakucionis was never going to win against Washington’s Luis Kortright, who snatched the loose ball, converted the layup and tied the game.

“It’s really ridiculous,” Underwood said of the mistake in his postgame press conference. “The inbounds plays, they’re in a zone, just go into the backcourt and get the basketball. And we set the stack and – jeez, oh Pete, I mean, we’ve gotta talk about every scenario.”

The upshot: The Illini hit their free throws – two each from Jakucionis and guard Kylan Boswell – and made the stops they needed down the stretch, preventing Huskies guard DJ Davis (31 points and seven threes off the bench) from playing the hero one more time.

“That’s resilience after that,” Underwood said, referring back to the turnover. “We got a stop, we got a loose ball and then made some toughness plays that we we have to make if you’re going to win close games like this. But we can’t make that out-of-bounds play … that’s just, that’s just a bonehead play.”

In their defense, the Illini (11-3, 2-1 Big Ten) have been guilty of very few of them in critical moments this season. Still, Underwood isn’t letting it slide.

“We did exactly what we had to do down the stretch today, other than the side out-of-bounds play, which is, well …” Underwood said. “I promise we’ll get that rectified.”

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Illinois

Illinois State gets back to .500 in MVC play with win over Southern Illinois

Published

19 hours ago

January 6, 2025

Press Room

Illinois State gets back to .500 in MVC play with win over Southern Illinois

(25News Now) – After starting out Missouri Valley play 0-2, Illinois State has rebounded with 2 straight wins vs Murray State, and an 85-54 win over Southern Illinois today.

The Redbirds were co-led in points by Jack Daugherty and Johnny Kinzinger with 17. Jordan Davis gets his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

They continue MVC play on Wednesday night at Evansville. Bradley will host Drake on Wednesday for a big early-season matchup.

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