Shelly Stallings, Breach of U.S. Capitol, Kentucky 2021

A Kentucky woman has been brought to justice for her role in the January 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol.

Shelly Stallings, 43, of Morganfield, Kentucky, pleaded guilty to all counts in a superseding indictment charging her with assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers using a dangerous weapon, interfering with a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder, and entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon, among other charges.

According to court documents, Stallings and three co-defendants sprayed a chemical irritant, pepper spray, at a line of police officers attempting to secure the area of the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol Building.

The charges against Stallings include five felonies: assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers using a dangerous weapon; interfering with a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder; entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon, and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon.

She also pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor offenses: disorderly conduct in the Capitol Grounds of Buildings and committing an act of physical violence in the Capitol Grounds or Buildings.

Stallings was arrested on February 16, 2022, in Owensboro, Kentucky. She is set to be sentenced on January 13, 2023. If convicted, she faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison on the charge of assaulting officers with a dangerous weapon and statutory maximums totaling 36 additional years for the other offenses, as well as potential financial penalties.

A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky.

The investigation remains ongoing, with more than 860 individuals arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol. Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

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