After being court-ordered not to return to Washington, D.C., or step foot in the Capitol building as part of her sentencing related to the Jan. 6, 2021, United States Capitol breach, Rebecca Lavrenz of Falcon cried when she got off a bus Monday in that very spot to attend the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump.

“I could not hold back the tears,” she said Wednesday. “Four years ago, we were in a battle to have truth and righteousness prevail. I couldn’t believe I was going to be allowed back in that building and watch the inauguration of the president that should have been there four years ago.”

The moment felt like vindication for the 72-year-old retired registered nurse and great-grandmother, who runs a bed-and-breakfast east of Colorado Springs.

Convicted U.S. Capitol breacher from Colorado Springs area plans to deny Trump pardon — if it’s offered

“I was there that day to defend for ‘We the People,’ for our rights,” she said. “It was a different feeling going back, totally an honor and amazing as God’s vindicated people.”

In his first day in office, President Donald Trump used his powers of clemency to pardon, commute the prison sentences or pledge to dismiss the cases of more than 1,500 defendants charged with crimes during the event.

Lavrenz was convicted April 4, 2024, of four federal misdemeanors during the “Stop the Steal” rally protesting the 2020 election results. Lavrenz, a Christian, said God told her to go to the event and pray, which led her to be nicknamed the “J-6 Praying Grandma” on social media.

With an ankle monitor strapped to her leg and requirements of probation needing attention, Lavrenz said she had planned to watch this year’s inauguration on TV in her home.

But after one of her daughters, who works for Trump and served as deputy director for Monday’s swearing-in ceremony, scored tickets for the family, Lavrenz requested court permission to attend the event.

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Five days before the inauguration, Lavrenz got word that a judge had given approval.

The family’s seats were in the Capitol building’s Emancipation Room — which Lavrenz thought was metaphorically appropriate.

“It was so awesome to be there,” she said.

Another sign that some people would call kismet but Lavrenz calls “God at work,” was that seatmates included world-renowned fighters. Retired professional boxer Evander Holyfield was just three seats away, and Jake Paul, who defeated Mike Tyson in November, his brother Logan Paul, a pro wrestler and influencer, and several well-known mixed martial arts competitors were in the row in front of Lavrenz’s family.

“Their fighting is physical, and I was put there to fight in a different arena — not with fists or weapons but with beliefs and convictions,” Lavrenz said. “I consider myself a fighter for my country.”

Lavrenz isn’t a big fan of mixed martial arts or boxing, so she wasn’t familiar with the legendary Irish MMA champ and boxer Conor McGregor, but the two hit it off when they met on the bus back to the hotel.

When the bus stopped near the hotel, Lavrenz said McGregor was swarmed by photographers, who took pictures of him. And since she was standing next to McGregor still talking with him, she was in the limelight, too.

“I’d had no idea who this guy was, but he was really interested in my story,” Lavrenz said.

So much so that McGregor called a reporter from The Sun in the United Kingdom, and Lavrenz gave the reporter an interview.

She also attended the Liberty Ball, one of several celebrations Monday night in the nation’s capital. It took about an hour of waiting in line outside in the freezing temperatures to enter the site.

“It was brutal,” Lavrenz said. But, “it was an honor to be able to go to the ball.”

‘J6 Praying Grandma’ says she’s not scared as sentencing nears

Right before boarding a plane Tuesday night to return to Colorado, Lavrenz got word from her probation officer that she had been offered a pardon for her Jan. 6 conviction.

Lavrenz had decided a few weeks ago that she would not accept a pardon from Trump if it was offered because she’s appealing her case and has high hopes for the case being overturned and setting a precedent.

Now, she’s still consulting with her lawyers to figure out whether she can still appeal if she accepts the pardon, and if she can be declared exonerated.

Until she has definitive answers, the ankle monitor remains on her leg. But the internet ban has been lifted.

“I want to be exonerated,” Lavrenz said.

A pardon means a person is forgiven, but the guilt and conviction remain, she said.

“Exonerated means wiped clean of any guilt. That’s what I want. I believe I had a total right to be in that building,” Lavrenz said. 

And she pledges to keep fighting. “I’ll still be a voice that America needs to return to its Judeo-Christian values.”

Another Jan. 6 defendant, 71-year-old Boise, Idaho, resident Pamela Hemphill, nicknamed “the MAGA Granny,” said publicly that she would reject her pardon from Trump.

“Accepting the pardon would be an insult to the Capitol Police officers, to the rule of law, to our nation,” she told the Idaho Statesman. “The J6 criminals are trying to rewrite history by saying that it was not a riot; it wasn’t an insurrection. I don’t want to be a part of their trying to rewrite what happened that day.”