Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Jan. 6 Rioter Who Blamed 'Dark Energy Forces' For Leading Her To Storm Capitol Gets Prison Sentence

Jan. 6 Rioter Who Blamed 'Dark Energy Forces' For Leading Her To Storm Capitol Gets Prison Sentence
Elita C. Amato, Esq.

A rioter who took part in the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol has been sentenced to jail time after defending herself by claiming "dark energy forces" compelled her to storm the Capitol.

Mariposa Castro, who is also known as Imelda Acosta, claimed in court she didn't mean to be involved in the insurrection and wishes she had done things differently. Her attorney Elita Amato called her involvement a mistake.


District Judge Reggie B. Walton had a different take on her involvement, and sentenced her to 45 days in prison and a $5000 fine for her involvement in the coup attempt.

Throughout the proceedings, Castro and her attorney cast her actions as an unintentional and unfortunate mistake. A tearful Castro told Judge Walton:

"I don't glorify my actions. I got caught up on the energy, and if I could go back and change things over, I definitely would have brought more peace."

Amato took a similar tack, saying her client "got caught up in everything" and characterized her actions as a huge mistake.

"She should have left. She had a lapse of judgement, she really did."

Castro added that "dark energy forces" seemed to have "sucked" her into the Capitol. Shockingly, that defense didn't work on Judge Walton, who noted Castro "seemed to be all in" on her storming of the Capitol in the videos she made of herself doing so.

Those videos showed Castro not only celebrating her actions, but characterizing the insurrection as a war and imploring others to join.

"War just started. It’s just the beginning. As Trump says, ‘the best is yet to come..."
"... I’m literally by myself. They told me not to be on my own, to find a crowd. And I’m by myself. That just shows how brave I am."
"If I can do this, you guys can do this."

Castro did not specify whether "dark forces" also compelled her to film her attempt at overthrowing the government.

On Twitter, Castro engendered very little sympathy.









Castro is just the latest to be charged of some 740 people arrested so far for their involvement in the January 6 coup attempt. It is believed more than 2,500 people in total committed chargeable offenses during the riots.

More from People/donald-trump

Miriam Margolyes
David Levenson/Getty Images

'Harry Potter' Star Miriam Margolyes Offers Mic Drop Explanation For Why Respecting Pronouns Matters

Sometimes it is just that easy to make people happy. This is a lesson learned over and over in our lives, but that's because it's an important one.

Actor Miriam Margolyes shared how she learned to change her behavior to make others happier. Margolyes appeared on The Graham Norton Show recently and brought up a fairly polarizing subject in the United Kingdom: trans people.

Keep ReadingShow less
Elon Musk looks on during a public appearance, as the billionaire once again turns a newsroom style decision into a culture-war grievance broadcast to millions on X.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

Elon Musk Cries Racism After Associated Press Explains Why They Capitalize 'Black' But Not 'White'

Elon Musk has spent the year picking fights, from health research funding to imagined productivity crises among federal workers and whether DOGE accomplished anything at all besides leaving chaos in its wake.

His latest grievance, however, is thinly disguised as grammatical. Specifically, he is once again furious that the Associated Press (AP) capitalizes “Black” while keeping “white” lowercase.

Keep ReadingShow less
Elon Musk; Yale University School of Engineering and Applied Science
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images; Plexi Images/GHI/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Elon Musk Gets Brutal Wakeup Call After Claiming That Yale's Lack Of Republican Faculty Is 'Outrageous Bigotry'

Elon Musk—who has repeatedly whined about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)—took to his social media platform to whine about a lack of conservative faculty at Yale University.

Musk shared data compiled by The Buckley Institute (TBI), a conservative-leaning organization founded at Yale in 2010. TBI found 82.3% of faculty self-identified as Democrats or primarily supporting Democratic candidates, 15% identified as independents, while only 2.3% identified as Republicans.

Keep ReadingShow less
Barry Manilow
Mat Hayward/Getty Images

Barry Manilow Speaks Out After Postponing Farewell Tour Dates Due To Lung Cancer Scare

"Looks Like We Made It" singer Barry Manilow is in the process of saying goodbye to the stage and meeting his fans in-person, but he has to press pause for a few months after receiving a jarring diagnosis.

On December 22, 2025, the "Mandy" singer posted on Facebook, explaining that a "cancerous spot" had been discovered on his left lung.

Keep ReadingShow less
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers in Avengers: Endgame, the last time audiences saw Captain America before his unexpected return was teased for Avengers: Doomsday.
Disney/Marvel Studios

Marvel Just Confirmed That Chris Evans Is Returning For 'Avengers: Doomsday'—And Fans Have Mixed Feelings

Folks, once again, continuity is more of a suggestion than a rule in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel has officially confirmed that Chris Evans is returning as Steve Rogers in Avengers: Doomsday, and the internet has responded exactly how you’d expect: screaming, celebrating, arguing, and a very justified side-eye toward how Sam Wilson keeps getting treated.

The confirmation comes via a teaser now playing exclusively in theaters ahead of Avatar: Fire and Ash. There is no official online release, despite leaks circulating. If you didn’t catch it on the big screen, Marvel’s response is essentially: sorry, guess you had to be there.

Keep ReadingShow less