On the day after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the United States Capitol, my wife texted me a social media post with videos of a local Realtor. In one, the woman was bragging about storming the Capitol building. In another, she was literally advertising her real estate services while live streaming from the riot.
Needless to say, I thought it might make for an interesting story.
After sending a couple of texts, I found myself on the phone with Jenna Ryan, the now well-known Realtor from the Frisco/Plano area who has gained national notoriety. My instincts told me to talk fast because I expected to be cut off at any second. I figured I’d get two, maybe three questions in before she hung up on me. Much to my surprise, Jenna was more than willing to tell her story.
Turns out, she was actually on a plane back from D.C. where she had just popped a Xanax to calm her nerves. At the time, she had no shame in her actions. In her words, those at the Capitol were “frontline patriots who are fighting for liberty.” I appreciated her being completely friendly and totally forthcoming. She was, dare I say, likeable.
After about 15 minutes on the phone, it was me who ended the conversation. I still had a story to write, and I was pretty sure my conversation wouldn’t be her last call with a reporter.
I reached out to the local brokerage and radio station she worked with according to her public social media profile. Those companies could not distance themselves fast enough, and they went out of their way to make sure I didn’t associate them with her.
It took about a week for the authorities to come calling for Ryan. By then, she had become something of a local D-list celebrity. Hordes of media were camped out in front of her home waiting to see a perp walk that never happened. Her lawyers weren’t about to give us the satisfaction.
By then she had become a national figure. The Washington Post ran a story on her (with a link to a Daltxrealestate.com article), and Jenna was talking to seemingly every media outlet that would have her. It was around that I received a random text from her that said, “Thanks for making me famous.” It included a smiling Instagram post where she bragged about her interviews with Fox News and the New York Times.
What I didn’t know then was, at the very same time, she was threatening to sue Daltxrealestate.com for the articles I had written. Needless to say, it was her own words that would prove to be much more damaging than mine.
Ryan would face more charges by the end of the month. Ever defiant, she claimed to have a book deal in the works and more clients than ever. She also added that she felt no shame in her actions.
A couple of weeks later, she was singing a different tune, claiming that she had regrets for what she had done. In August she struck a plea deal with prosecutors and pled guilty to lesser charges. In November, she was sentenced to 60 days in jail.
Of course, she was not the only North Texas Realtor to face consequences for their actions on Jan. 6. Yet there was something about Ryan that struck a chord with people more than any of her fellow colleagues. If it was attention she wanted, she got it. In the end, I’m guessing that’s all she ever wanted.
Of course, I don’t know that for a fact. She has long since stopped talking to me. However, she has remained active on social media, vowing to use her time in jail to lose 30 pounds, detox, and do lots of yoga. Here’s to more productive goals in 2022.
