A Crest Hill couple pleaded guilty Friday to their roles in the U.S. Capitol breach, admitting they spent about an hour in the building Jan. 6 after entering through a broken window.
John Schubert, 72, and Amy Schubert, 62, each pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. Their sentencing hearing has been set for Feb. 17, and they face up to six months in jail.
During a hearing Friday, a prosecutor said the Schuberts entered the Capitol through the window shortly after Congress evacuated at 2:20 p.m. Between 2:22 p.m. and 3:18 p.m., the couple visited the Rotunda, a nearby hallway and a congressional meeting room, the prosecutor said.
Amy Schubert also wrote in a text message that she was 20 feet away “from the woman who was shot inside the Capitol,” according to the prosecutor. That was an apparent reference to the fatal shooting of Ashli Babbitt.
The Schuberts are now at least the fourth and fifth Illinois residents to plead guilty to their roles in the Capitol breach. Bradley Rukstales of Inverness pleaded guilty in August and was sentenced last month to 30 days in jail. Two Downstate men, Bruce Harrison and Douglas Wangler, also pleaded guilty in September and face sentencing later this month.
Christian and Mark Kulas, of Kenilworth and Lake Forest respectively, are expected to plead guilty Monday.
In all, at least 19 Illinoisans are among the hundreds charged nationwide in connection with the riot that interrupted the Electoral College vote count and led to what prosecutors say is likely the largest criminal investigation in U.S. history.
The Schuberts were arrested in July. An anonymous tip to the FBI on March 2 about a YouTube video led the feds to them, according to a criminal complaint. Titled “The Insurrection of The United States Capitol,” it purportedly showed a woman wearing a black jacket with the text “Plumbers & Pipefitters Local Union 422 Joliet IL.”
Using data already gathered through search warrants, the feds said they found six Google accounts associated with Joliet’s area code near the Capitol building on Jan. 6. Two of them were connected to female subscribers, and one of them was “Amy Schubert,” according to the complaint.
That led the feds to Amy Schubert’s Facebook page and Illinois Secretary of State records for her and her husband, according to the complaint. The feds also sought a search warrant for Amy Schubert’s Gmail account, it said.
That search showed that a mobile device associated with that account was present at the Capitol on Jan. 6. The feds also said they found photos and video of the Capitol taken on that day, some of which appeared to depict John Schubert.
