One of three North Texas agents who flew on a private plane together for the U.S. Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, pleaded guilty last week, while another boasted that she had received “no repercussions whatsoever” to her real estate license, following the conviction for her role in the attack a year-and-a-half ago.
On Jan. 5, 2021, agents Katherine Staveley Schwab, aka, “Katie Schwab” of Colleyville; Jason Lee Hyland of Frisco; and Jennifer Leigh Ryan, aka, “Jenna Ryan” or “Jennifer Rodgers” of Frisco; flew to Washington, D.C., on Hyland’s private plane, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The next day, the three headed to the Capitol together after learning that the building had been breached. All three entered the building.
Image from the criminal complaint against Jason Lee Hyland of the group after landing in Manassas, Virginia, on Jan. 5, 2021. Identified individuals pictured starting from the left include Jenna Ryan, Katherine Schwab and Hyland.
Before leaving the Capitol grounds, Schwab joined others in the crowd who were attacking media equipment in a press enclosure — kicking and throwing the equipment — while Hyland and Ryan looked on. Afterward, Schwab and Ryan both boasted that they had “stormed the Capitol.”
On Aug. 18, Schwab pleaded guilty to engaging in disruptive or disorderly conduct in a restricted building or grounds as part of a plea agreement. Her sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 9, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The charge carries a maximum sentence of one year of imprisonment, a fine of $100,000 and a term of supervised release of not more than one year.
Schwab’s real estate license is currently inactive and set to expire on Sept. 30. Hyland’s license expired on May 31, 2021, and has not been renewed. On March 28, he pleaded guilty to parading, demonstrating and picketing in a Capitol building. And Aug. 9, he was sentenced to seven days in jail and ordered to pay a $4,000 fine and $500 in restitution.
Another agent who participated in the riot, John MacMillan Cameron of Port Orchard, Washington, was sentenced last week to 36 months of probation including 30 days in prison served intermittently.
Ryan, who infamously claimed her “blond hair” and “white skin” would keep her out of jail, was sentenced to 60 days in prison in November, which she served between Dec. 21 and Feb. 17 at Bryan, a minimum-security federal prison camp in Texas.
Now, Ryan has launched a podcast, called Texas News Talk and “Jenna Ryan J6,” a Substack newsletter, about her experiences that day. In the inaugural post on Aug. 15, she detailed her prison experience and the impacts of her involvement in the Capitol riot on her business.
“Yes, this situation has destroyed my business and my reputation,” she wrote. “It’s not so much the actual event, as the media onslaught that occured (sic) after the event that harmed my business.
“Even though my business has been negatively impacted, it has not stopped me from working even harder, therefore, I am still able to earn a living selling real estate.”
“I am still a great real estate agent and I appreciate your support and your referrals,” she added.
Ryan’s real estate broker license remains active. There is no posted disciplinary action against either Ryan, Schwab, or Hyland on the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) website.
“I did not lose my real estate license and there were no repercussions whatsoever from the Texas Real Estate Commission for being present at the Capitol,” Ryan wrote.
“I was able to sell homes during 2021 and actually closed on a house when I was in prison (through the assistance of a broker friend).”
Ryan remains a member of the association and is therefore still a Realtor, according to the Collin County Association of Realtors (CCAR).
“Anytime a Realtor Association is informed that a dues-paying member’s license status is inactive, suspended or revoked by the licensing authority, the dues-paying member’s membership is terminated with the Association,” said COO of CCAR Jonna Fernandez in an emailed statement.
“At this time, Ms. Ryan is a member of our Association, as we have not been informed by the Texas Real Estate Commission that her license status is inactive, suspended or revoked.”
She said Schwab and Hyland have never been members of CCAR. TREC did not respond to emailed requests for comment.
Fernandez said that CCAR has an agreement with the Texas Association of Realtors (TAR) to address complaints involving members. She did not respond when asked whether TAR had imposed any discipline on Ryan for her involvement in the Capitol attack or under the National Association of Realtors’ hate speech policy for claiming that she wouldn’t go to jail because of her race.
Fernandez also did not respond when asked whether TAR or CCAR had taken any action against Ryan under a NAR policy that states that disciplinary action may be taken against a member “[o]n a member being convicted, adjudged, or otherwise recorded as guilty by a final judgment of any court of competent jurisdiction of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude.”
Asked about disciplinary action against Ryan, Schwab, or Hyland, a spokesperson for Texas Realtors told Inman in an emailed statement, “Our complaint process is confidential. We are unable to disclose whether any individual member has had a complaint filed against them nor are we able to disclose the results of any such complaint. All complaints are fully vetted and more information can be found at: www.texasrealtors.com/complaints.”
Inman reached out to NAR to ask if the trade group was aware of any Realtor association imposing any discipline on Ryan, Schwab, or Hyland. We will update this story if and when we hear back.
In the year following Jan. 6, NAR was the second-biggest donor among trade groups to the campaigns of lawmakers who voted against certifying the 2020 election results, known as the “Sedition Caucus.”
In her Substack post, Ryan wrote, “I am in litigation with various entities, but I cannot discuss this.” She did not respond to a phone call and text message requesting comment.
