‘Two mins in the Capitol left me facing a year in jail — I had tears of joy when Trump won’: January 6th ‘rioter’ reveals all

Isabella Maria DeLuca, 24, is a social media influencer originally from Setauket, NY, who went to the Capitol in Washington DC on Jan. 6, 2021.

She attended President Trump’s rally and then followed the crowd into the Capitol that fateful day. She says she stayed only two minutes before deciding to leave as she started to feel uncomfortable.

However, those two minutes turned out to be life-changing, and not in a good way. Three years later she was arrested on federal misdemeanor charges — including theft of government property, disorderly conduct, and entering a restricted area — in March 2024.

DeLuca, who has a significant social media following was accused of storming the Capitol and helping pass a stolen table out a broken window during the ordeal, according to court records.

The table, which was taken from a Senate terrace room, was later used to attack law enforcement, the feds alleged. DeLuca, along with the more than 1,500 Capitol Hill rioters, were pardoned by President Trump last week.

Here she tells The Post’s Dana Kennedy she is grateful, but the trauma remains.

If you can imagine, I’m all of 5’1″ and 122 pounds but the FBI sent seven armed agents to arrest me — and they put me in shackles and handcuffs.

I had no criminal record and there are actual criminals who are not met with that kind of force. It was probably the worst day of my life. Even though I always thought I might be arrested, it was still a horrible shock when it happened.

I was only 21 when I went down to the Capitol. I was just going to meet friends at the Trump rally. We had no plans beyond that and we certainly never had any idea how the day was going to unfold.

I was in a vacant meeting room [in the Capitol] for all of two minutes. It looked like it was all turning into a bad situation so we all kind of left at the same time. I think there were [outside] agitators there.

It was at the point where they [the rioters] were all taking furniture. I only ever touched the table that the government said later I had passed out the window. I didn’t pass it to anyone. At that moment, I just touched it. That was it. Their evidence is of me touching that table, nothing more.

I figured the police knew I was there because I posted a video of myself outside the Capitol on social media and it was up for a few days. I’m pretty sure one of my followers reported me to the FBI.

So I always had in the back of my mind that I might be arrested, even after all this time. But the strangest thing was, I was living in DC the whole time and they didn’t arrest me there.

Last March I went to Orange County, California, for a pro-life event and stayed with a friend in Irvine. It was weird because I had just flown in the day before. I was walking downstairs from my friend’s apartment to get a coffee that morning when I was approached by FBI agents saying “We have a warrant for your arrest.”

It was very creepy because… how did they know I was there? I didn’t post about going to California.

I was scared at first but tried to keep my composure. One of the FBI agents turned to me and said, “You don’t seem nervous at all?” I thought that was a weird comment.

They put me in a jail cell in Orange County and put me in shackles and handcuffs when I went in front of the judge. I had this moment in the jail cell when I broke down and I was re-shackled and handcuffed. But because I don’t have a criminal history, I was allowed to go that day if I handed in my passport and agreed not to travel domestically without alerting them. The other condition was that I couldn’t go to the Capitol.

It didn’t make a lot of sense because obviously the FBI had known about me for a long time and after January 6th. I worked at two congressional internships and had unrestricted access to the Capitol.

When I got back home, I saw the FBI had raided my apartment. My place was a mess. My drawers were opened and my clothing books and paintings were strewn all over the floor. They left papers on my kitchen counter saying what they had taken — like my two other phones and other personal items.

It was so humiliating and felt like such a violation.

I lived with such anxiety after that — like, when are they going to come back? I couldn’t sleep for weeks after my arrest. I thought they might come in while I was sleeping. It was very hard to live a normal life with this hanging over me.

When your own government labels you as a thief, it’s hard to come back from that. I have to convince other people that I am not this person.

On November 6, the day before the election, the FBI came to me with a plea deal. They wanted me to plead guilty to theft of government property and to pay a $100,000 fine. I felt sick to my stomach because it was so close to the election and I didn’t know which way things would go. My attorney knew to ask for extra time.

It was a tough situation. I had two options: Either plead guilty to what I didn’t do or face a trial in the District of Columbia where 94% of people voted for Kamala and they would be the jury.

I had a May 25, 2025 trial date. If Trump hadn’t won, I would have faced that jury.

I had just turned 24 and was trying to get my life started. It was a huge setback.

My first reaction when I heard President Trump had pardoned us was tears of joy. I was out to dinner with friends. I felt vindicated.

I’m currently jobless. I’d been working at Gold Institute for International Strategy but they let me go after I was arrested. I monetize my social media but am still hoping to get another real job.

What happened to me is still a black mark. There’s no escaping it. But I’m determined to rebuild my life. I’m afraid I would be in jail if Kamala won, so I am so relieved she didn’t.

I’m confident it will all work out.

And you know what? I don’t regret it.