Nurse fired after posting Facebook video from US Capitol amid riots
A nurse claims she was fired from her job after she entered the US Capitol during the violent insurrection last Wednesday (local time) and shared video footage of it to her Facebook.
Lori Vinson, from Morganfield in the US state of Kentucky, told news station WFIE-TV she was among the crowd who stormed the Capitol, but claims she did not partake in the violence.
“I participated in none of that. I would never participate in that,” Ms Vinson said.
While inside the building, Ms Vinson recorded videos on her mobile phone and uploaded the footage to Facebook.
“I hope that is something I remember and say, ‘I’m glad I was a part of that 30 years from now’,” Ms Vinson said.
Her Facebook profile also revealed who her employer was, The Associated Press reported.
On January 8, Vinson said she was fired from Ascension St. Vincent hospital in Evansville, Indiana.
She claims paperwork said she was fired for admitting to engaging in criminal behaviour at a high-profile event.
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Ascension St. Vincent said in a statement it “cannot comment on specific employment matters”.
The FBI also contacted Ms Vinson relating to her being at the Capitol during the riot after she was fired.
She said she had a 10-minute conversation and the agent thanked her, saying: “You won’t be hearing from me again.”
Even after losing her job and being contacted by the FBI, Ms Vinson says she has no regrets.
“Because I was there for a peaceful protest and that’s what I was doing,” Ms Vinson said.
“I felt like I have done nothing wrong and I wouldn’t change it.”
Nurse says there was ‘no resistance’ from US Capitol police
Ms Vinson told the Courier Journal she went to the Capitol to “support President Trump on the stolen, fraudulent votes”.
Donald Trump has repeatedly made false claims he won the election.
The outgoing president refused to concede and repeated baseless accusations of voter fraud.
His former attorney-general, William Barr, said the Justice Department had seen no evidence of widespread fraud to overturn Biden’s margin of victory.
Trump supporters stormed their way into the Capitol after the US president armed them with false information at the Save America rally.
Ms Vinson and her husband entered the Capitol after the rally and she told the Courier Journal there was “no resistance” and claimed she would have felt it was “wrong” if she was told to not enter.
“There was never law enforcement there that said you can’t enter here. And if we had ever met any of that resistance, we would have never gone in,” Ms Vinson said.
Confederate flags were brought into the building, windows were smashed, five people died at the Capitol that day, and the world watched the violence escalate.
Authorities are now scrambling to arrest those involved in the insurrection as only 13 people were arrested in the moments after the Capitol building was cleared.
National Guard troops pour into Washington ahead of inauguration
By the busload and planeload, National Guard troops were pouring into the nation’s capital on Saturday as governors answered the urgent pleas of US defence officials for more troops to help safeguard Washington even as they keep anxious eyes on possible violent protests in their own states.
Military leaders spent chunks of Thursday evening and Friday calling states in an unprecedented appeal for more National Guard troops to help lock down much of the city in the days before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
In dribs and drabs, governors responded, some agreeing to send an extra dozen, 100 or even 1,000, while others said no.
The calls reflect fears violent extremist groups are targeting the city in the wake of the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol.
The threats range from armed insurgents to possible attempts to plant explosive devices at so-called soft targets.
But as Washington begins to resemble an armed camp, with more than 25,000 Guard due in the city by early next week, concerns about violence at state capitals has grown.
With The Associated Press
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