Missouri woman pardoned for Jan. 6 offenses sentenced in deadly drunken-driving crash

FRANKLIN COUNTY, Mo. (KTVI) – Emily Hernandez, a Missouri woman pardoned after her ties to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, was sentenced Wednesday in connection with a drunken-driving crash.

Hernandez was sentenced to 10 years in prison in connection with a deadly crash in January 2022, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, USA Today and other local reports.

Investigators had said that Hernandez, who was 22 years old at the time of the crash, was driving the wrong way on eastbound I-44 in a Volkswagen Passat when it struck the front of a Buick Enclave. The Enclave was pushed into the median and struck cable barriers.

One passenger in the Enclave, 32-year-old Victoria Wilson of St. Clair, Missouri, died in the crash. Hernandez was later arrested for driving while intoxicated, resulting in death.

“What I did was ungodly and I will live with that shame for the rest of my life,” Hernandez said in court on Wednesday, according to the Post-Dispatch. “I am sorry for what I did and if I could take it all back, I would.”

The Post-Dispatch reported that Hernandez was given close to the maximum sentence for the charges, being sentenced to 10 years in Wilson's death and 7 years for injuries caused to another passenger, though the sentences are running concurrently.

Hernandez was one of about 1,500 people who had previously been charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol. Hernandez had been caught on camera holding the nameplate of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and had recorded a video of herself grabbing or carrying other signs she found at the Capitol.

Hernandez had been arrested on charges related to the insurrection on Jan. 19, 2021, and later accepted a plea deal. She was ultimately sentenced to 30 days in jail with one year of supervised release.