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Congress, the FBI, journalists, and the American public have all joined forces to help uncover the identity of every single domestic terrorist who forced their way into the US Capitol last week. Many of these rioters have ties to the Proud Boys and other right-wing extremist organizations, but according to the Midland Reporter-Telegram, at least one of them has ties to Oklahoma’s cannabis industry.
Reporters have identified Jenny Cudd as one of the rioters who live-streamed themselves taking part in the insurrection. “We did break down Nancy Pelosi’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,” Cudd said in a phone video that has been making the rounds on Twitter this week.
Cudd, an owner of a flower shop in Midland, Texas, picked up some local notoriety in her hometown when she ran for mayor in 2019. The candidate was only able to pick up about 15 percent of the total vote, but she made headlines again last year by protesting against the state’s coronavirus lockdown and possible mask mandates.
During her mayoral bid, Cudd said that she owned a partial stake in a consulting company that works with medical cannabis growers in Oklahoma. At the time, Cudd told the Reporter-Telegram that she was a partial owner of two medical pot farms, which was equivalent to “1.5 shares in the consulting companies.” She also said that she helped raise $1.25 million in investor capital for one of these facilities.
Last July, Cudd hosted a marketing video entitled “Cannabis Investment Opportunity – Summit Boys presented by Jenny Cudd.” Summit Boys is a California-based cannabis extract company that recently announced plans to expand into Oklahoma’s thriving medical cannabis market. Cudd has been featured in a Summit Boys Instagram post, and is also listed as the Oklahoma contact for the company on a website for investors. Summit Boys has not commented on her involvement with the company, however.
“I did not break any laws, I went inside the capitol completely legally and I did not do anything to hurt anybody or destroy any property,” Cudd said in an interview with NewsWest 9 two days after the riot. “There’s been several people that have reported me to the FBI and the local FBI agent in Midland has my cell phone number and has not contacted me, no law enforcement has.”
It didn’t take long for the FBI to make contact, though. This week, Cudd was arrested by the FBI along with Eliel Rose, another Midland resident who participated in the riot. Both have been charged with Class A and B misdemeanors, and if convicted of all charges, could be sentenced up to 18 months in prison and fined over $100,000 apiece.
