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Who is Jenny Cudd? Ex Midland mayor candidate who boasted about Capitol riot claims innocence in new interview

Cudd earlier claimed that Antifa had broken through the Capitol’s barriers and assaulted police officers before she arrived. In today's interview she said 'patriots' had broken through barriers before she walked up Capitol's steps

Midlander Jenny Cudd went viral after she recorded being part of the riot at Capitol on January 6 and shared it on Facebook Live. However, before it was taken down, the video had already been shared on Twitter, where users were tagging FBI to arrest her. An ER doctor tweeted Cudd's words spoken to the camera, where she admits to being part of the mob that broke into Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office, with the caption: "Meet Jenny Cudd from Midland Texas".

In the video, Cudd says, "WE did break down @SpeakerPelosi's office door and somebody stole her gavel and I took a picture sitting in the chair flipping off the camera and that was on Fox News". The same user also posted the section of the FB live video where Cudd said: "I'm proud of everything I was part of today and I'll be proud of everything I'm a part of at the next one.. and we'll see what happens at that."

After the video emerged, she was identified as a former mayoral candidate. Cudd ran against current Midland Mayor Patrick Payton and Jerry Morales for mayor in November 2019 and received 15.6 percent of the vote. In 2020, Cudd actively participated in protests in Midland and Odessa against business closures and potential mask mandates having to do with the COVID-19 pandemic. Cudd owns a business herself called Becky's Flowers in Midland. 

Prominent names call for Cudd's arrest  

Since she released her video, Cudd said she had received seven death threats at her business. There has also been widespread outrage on Twitter with prominent names calling for her arrest. Texas state representative, Jeff Leach, a Republican from Plano, tweeted: “You should be arrested and prosecuted, Ms. Cudd”. 

Other notable names calling for Cudd’s arrest include actors Jane Lynch and Patton Oswalt. Lynch retweeted Cudd’s video and said, “Arrest the dope.” Winslow also shared Cudd’s video and tagged the FBI before writing, “What else do you need to make an arrest?”

"The FBI El Paso and Midland offices are aware of events surrounding Ms. Cudd and other West Texas residents involved in the events that occurred at the US capitol this week," a representative from the FBI has stated.

Cudd changes story completely in new interview

In raw interview footage posted by local news outlet NewsWest 9, Cudd has now completely changed her story. She now says that when she used the word "we" in her viral Facebook live video, she had meant it in a "general" way and wasn't speaking about herself personally.

She also said she wanted to clarify that she did not "personally tear down anything, destroy anything, go in any offices, desecrate anything or commit any acts of violence", saying that "patriots" had already breached through Capitol's security and doors by the time she arrived and walked up the steps and went through the "open door".

She said, "I did not do anything illegal. I walked into an open door in the Capitol and went inside..." She also stated that no police or FBI officials had got in touch with her personally about arresting her. She previously tried to walk back her statements on the live Facebook video in an earlier interview on January 7 as well. In that interview, she had claimed that Antifa had broken through the Capitol’s barriers and assaulted police officers before she arrived.

Cudd, meanwhile, has created a legal defense fund to “fight cancel culture,” according to a page on the crowdfunding site GiveSendGo.
“I would appreciate any help you can provide in order to hire an attorney to fight back against defamation & the ongoing assault on my character,” she wrote on the page.