Judge Allows Miami January 6 Defendant to Take European Honeymoon Trip

It seems everyone is having themselves a European summer — even those awaiting trial for the January 6 Capitol riot.

Barbara "Barby" Balmaseda, a 24-year-old former Florida International University student and Miami GOP strategist indicted in May on criminal charges for storming the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, has received permission from a federal judge to take a two-week honeymoon trip to Spain and Italy this month, according to court records.

In an order issued on July 19, U.S. District Judge John Bates granted Balmaseda's request to celebrate her honeymoon across the pond — a plan that includes flying from Miami to Barcelona, Spain, on August 29 and returning home from Rome, Italy, on September 13.

"Particularly relevant to the Court's conclusion are (1) the uncertain status of defendant's sole felony charge...(2) defendant's ties to the United States and apparent lack of ties outside the United States; and (3) defendant's compliance with her conditions of release to date," Bates wrote in the order.

January 6 prosecutors Matthew Graves and Taylor Fontan previously urged the court to deny Balmaseda's request.

In a motion filed on July 17 in D.C. federal court, the attorneys contended that Balmaseda poses a flight risk and is already subject to the "least restrictive combination of conditions necessary to ensure the safety of the community."

"Ms. Balmaseda was not required to post bond and is not subject to home detention, a curfew, or GPS monitoring," the motion reads.

They also pointed out that the courts have previously denied travel requests for January 6 defendants to destinations such as Jamaica, Greece, and Cyprus, ultimately labeling Balmaseda's travel "nonessential."

"There is no evidence that Ms. Balmaseda can't have her honeymoon in the United States within the same time frame," the motion reads. "The government acknowledges that Ms. Balmaseda's honeymoon abroad would be a nice trip to celebrate her marriage, but that does not mitigate the severity of Ms. Balmaseda's actions before, on, and after January 6, 2021, and the interest in having recourse if Ms. Balmaseda violates her conditions."

Balmaseda's attorney, Nayib Hassan, had argued Balmaseda is "by no means a flight risk or a danger to the community."

"At all times, pursuant to the government's request, she has always been available for all hearings," Hassan argued. "The only request made has been for her honeymoon."

Balmaseda, a Miami Lakes native with ties to high-profile Republican politicians and the far-right Proud Boys, interned for U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio between 2018 and 2019, helped to organize Gov. Ron DeSantis' 2018 campaign, and was a campaign manager for Ileana Garcia's controversial 2020 Florida Senate race.
In December 2023, she was arrested on five charges related to the riot, including a felony charge of corrupt obstruction of an official proceeding.

Online sleuths zeroed in on Balmaseda (whom they dubbed #PinkGaiterPBG and #PinkPBGirl) in March 2022 after photos captured her inside the Capitol on January 6 wearing a black-and-pink gaiter and later alongside Proud Boys Gabriel Garcia and Ethan Nordean, both of whom have been convicted of charges in connection with the January 6 insurrection.

She was also seen on video that day climbing on equipment staged in preparation for President Joe Biden's inauguration.

"U.S. Capitol Police closed-circuit television captured Balmaseda entering the Capitol building via the Senate Wing door at approximately 2:16 p.m., just four minutes after rioters initially breached the building," the DOJ alleges.

According to an FBI affidavit, Balmaseda created a Telegram group chat that included Garcia and other Miami-area Proud Boys in the months leading up to the insurrection. Between November 2020 and January 2021, she sent roughly 900 messages in the chat, which she named "Barby's Security :)" at one point.

On May 22, a grand jury formally indicted Balmaseda on all five criminal charges.

The felony charge is now in limbo following the Supreme Court's June ruling in Fischer v. United States, a January 6 case in which the court found that a subset of obstruction-of-an-official-proceeding charges are only valid if they involve tampering or interfering with a document or other physical object used in the proceeding.

As of late June, more than 1,400 individuals had been charged with federal crimes in connection with the attack on the Capitol.