NEW HANOVER COUNTY — The Federal Bureau of Investigation has arrested the former vice chair of a local chapter of the conservative “parents rights” group, Moms for Liberty, due to her presence in the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021.
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Justina Guardino, 32, was arrested in Wilmington on Sept. 12 for violating federal law when she joined thousands of protesters surrounding the Capitol as Congress was certifying the 2020 election results. The insurrection, led by those protesting President Donald Trump’s reelection loss, disrupted the count and resulted in 174 injuries to police, five of whom died on Jan. 6 or in the days and weeks immediately after.
The criminal complaint shows Guardino is being charged for two violations under 18 U.S. Code 1752, including:
- Entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority to do so
- Knowingly, and with intent to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of government business or official functions, engages in disorderly or disruptive conduct in, or within such proximity to, any restricted building or grounds when, or so that, such conduct, in fact, impedes or disrupts the orderly conduct of government business or official functions
Until recently, Guardino was vice chair of the New Hanover County chapter of Moms for Liberty, though the chapter’s website no longer shows any information on Guardino. Internet archives of the webpage indicate she was listed alongside Chair Jan Boswell and Legislation Chair Natosha Tew, the latter of whom is a candidate for the New Hanover County Board of Education.
Port City Daily reached out to the NHC chapter for a statement on Guardino’s arrest; the group responded after press with a statement from Boswell:
“Justina Guardino is no longer with Moms for Liberty. She resigned her volunteer vice chair position and we therefore have no further information on her legal situation. We continue to focus on our mission to push voter registration in North Carolina and support school board candidates who believe in parental rights ahead of the upcoming election in November. That mission remains unchanged.”
The group, deemed extremist by the Southern Poverty Law Center, advocates against school curricula discussing LGBTQ+ rights, race and ethnicity and discrimination, often calling to ban books, while advocating for more parental involvement in public education.
The federal complaint includes images collected from video footage showing Guardino inside the Capitol building. Eight images were presented to Guardino in an interview with law enforcement in August 2022; she confirmed her identity in two of them. Law enforcement also linked Guardino’s phone location to Capitol grounds in and around the time of the Jan. 6 riot.
In the interview, Guardino originally said she spent the rest of the evening in her hotel room after attending Trump’s rally preceding the riot. However, she later admitted she left the hotel for the Capitol after seeing news coverage of the ongoing protests.
The FBI estimates that between 2,000 and 2,500 people entered the Capitol building on Jan. 6.
Once Guardino reached the Capitol, she claimed there were no fences or barriers blocking her path to the building and observed no weapons nor acts of violence. She reported seeing only a broken window to investigators.
The complaint then states Guardino described her journey into and around the Capitol as “peaceful” and “akin to a tour, since she had believed at the time that the U.S. Capitol Building was open to the public.” She subsequently admitted her visit was not part of a public tour after law enforcement questioned her about the lack of security screenings she was put through before entrance.
After the interview, law enforcement were able to identify Guardino in additional images, videos and CCTV footage from Jan. 6. Included in the complaint filing, they show Gaurdino entering the building through a window adjacent to the Senate Wing Door at around 3:15 p.m. She then records the area with her phone until Capitol police and Metropolitan Police Department officers close the window and direct everyone inside to leave at 3:17 p.m.
Footage then shows Guardino re-entering the building through the Senate Wing Door around 3:21 p.m. She continues to record while heading toward the Crypt, an area displaying historical statues, until she was blocked by another group of uniformed officers. She is directed to leave through the Senate Wing Door and does so at 3:24 p.m.
Guardino is among more than 1,400 charged for their role in the insurrection. As of January of this year, federal prosecutors have gained 718 guilty pleas and 460 people have been imprisoned.
According to federal law, Guardino could face the following for violating 18 U.S. Code 1752:
- a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both, if—
- the person, during and in relation to the offense, uses or carries a deadly or dangerous weapon or firearm; or
- the offense results in significant bodily injury as defined by section 2118(e)(3); and
- a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both, in any other case.
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