Beverly Hills resident and salon owner Gina Bisignano, who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots, has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the day, according to a newly unsealed plea agreement. Bisignano, along with two other Beverly Hills residents, numbers among the more than 700 suspects charged in the Capitol insurrection.
In the plea agreement, which was reached last July but not unsealed until Dec. 21, Bisignano pleaded guilty to six of the seven charges in her indictment. Those charges are Obstruction of an Official Proceeding and Aiding and Abetting; Civil Disorder; Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Engaging in Physical Violence in a Restricted Building or Grounds and Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, who is prosecuting the case, dropped a charge for Destruction of Government Property under the terms of the agreement.
The agreement notes that “neither the Government’s recommendation nor the Sentencing Guidelines are binding on the Court.” It does, however, estimate Bisignano’s possible prison time at 41 to 51 months. It also estimates Bisignano’s potential financial penalty as between $15,000 to $150,000, with an additional $2,000 to the Department of Treasury as restitution for the $1.5 million in damage to the Capitol.
Under the deal, Bisignano agrees to cooperate with federal, state, and local law enforcement. She is required to “promptly turn over to the Government any and all evidence of crimes about which [Bisignano is] aware.”
The government, in turn, agrees to “bring to the Court’s attention at the time of sentencing the nature and extent of [Bisignano’s] cooperation or lack of cooperation.”
In an interview with the Courier following the insurrection, Bisignano acknowledged entering the Capitol building and using a bullhorn to encourage others to do the same. “Everybody, we need gas masks. We need weapons. We need strong, angry patriots to help our boys, they don’t want to leave. We need protection,” Bisignano called out to the rioters, standing in the archway of a broken window.
“I was caught up, I was scared, I was excited,” Bisignano told the Courier. “A guy said to say that over the megaphone. I don’t even remember saying it.”
The plea deal, signed by Bisignano on July 28, is conditioned upon her “acceptance of responsibility.”
Bisignano is among a group of alleged Capitol rioters who frequented the Beverly Hills Freedom Rallies that took place in 2020. The group includes two other Beverly Hills residents, John Strand and Simone Gold, both of whom have been charged in connection with their participation in the Capitol insurrection. Gold confirmed to the Washington Post that she had entered the Capitol with other rioters but insisted that she did not participate in or witness any violence.
Strand and Gold, who are being tried together, are both charged with Obstruction of an Official Proceeding and Aiding and Abetting, Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds, Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds, Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building, Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building.
Bisignano is next scheduled to appear for a remote status conference on March 4.
