Evansville nurse, husband charged in connection with Capitol riot

An Evansville nurse and her husband who were accused of participating in the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot were arrested Tuesday, the FBI said.

Lori Ann Vinson and Thomas Ray Vinson were arrested in Owensboro, Kentucky, on charges including knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct which impedes the conduct of government business, disruptive conduct in the Capitol buildings and parading, demonstrating or picketing the Capitol buildings, the FBI said.

Timothy Beam, a spokesman for the FBI in Louisville, told the Lexington Herald-Leader that Vinson is the same person who appeared in news reports shortly after the riot saying she had been fired. Vinson said she “would do it again tomorrow.”

Vinson, of Morganfield, said she was fired from her nursing job at Ascension St. Vincent hospital in Evansville after posting on Facebook that she entered the Capitol during the riot.

Vinson told WFIE-TV at the time that she walked into the Capitol along with others who had stormed the building and while inside, she recorded videos with her cellphone. She said she did not take part in the violence.

“I participated in none of that. I would never participate in that,” Vinson said.

Ascension St. Vincent said in a statement that it “cannot comment on specific employment matters.”