Texas business owner charged in Capitol riot asks judge to allow Mexico work retreat

Chacour Koop
Updated

A Texas business owner charged in the U.S. Capitol riot wants to take a trip to a Mexico resort area.

Jenny Cudd, a Midland woman, asked a federal judge for permission to travel to Riviera Maya this month for a work retreat, according to a motion filed Monday. Cudd paid for the four-day excursion before she was arrested and charged for her role in the attack on Jan. 6, the motion says.

“This is a work-related bonding retreat for employees and their spouses,” the motion says.

According to the motion, the federal prosecutor said “the government takes no position on Ms. Cudd’s request” and her pretrial services officer did not object, saying she defers to the court’s judgment.

Cudd was charged with entering and remaining on restricted grounds and disorderly conduct or violent entry, both misdemeanors.

Cudd streamed a Facebook Live video of herself after entering the Capitol, saying she broke into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office with others, according to a criminal complaint. A photograph depicts her inside the Capitol rotunda, the complaint says.

The criminal complaint also cites Cudd’s interview with a Midland news reporter, who she told “we the patriots did storm the U.S. Capitol” and “I would absolutely do it again.”

Cudd is the owner of a flower shop and former Midland mayoral candidate, the Midland Reporter-Telegram reported.

Her motion to travel describes Cudd as a “small business owner in Midland, Texas and an established member of her community” who has no criminal history.

Cudd is free from jail on bond. Her conditions for release require a judge to approve travel outside the U.S., and she must stay away from Washington, D.C., except for court and meetings with her attorney or the pretrial service agency.

Texas dad and son on birthday trip to DC stormed the Capitol together, feds say

Originally published

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