Jenny O’Connell-Nowain stands outside the Shasta County Superior Courthouse on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, prior to a judge sentencing her to county jail. The jail later released her on house arrest due to her medication requirements, husband Benjamin Nowain said. Photo by Mike Chapman for A News Cafe.
The Redding woman who was arrested for her peaceful sit-down protest at a Board of Supervisors meeting in November 2024 got a quick reprieve from jail Wednesday.
Jenny O’Connell-Nowain received a 90-day jail sentence in Shasta County Superior Court on Wednesday afternoon but hours later she was let go on house arrest. She also had her sentence cut in half.
“They took one look at Jenny’s medication requirements and they sent her home on house arrest,” said Jenny’s husband, Benjamin Nowain.
O’Connell-Nowain had entered the courtroom clutching a paper sack that held her anti-seizure medication and a doctor’s note to let jail staff know she required her meds while behind bars.
Apparently, her medication requirements were too overwhelming for incarceration.
Benjamin said his wife was wearing an ankle monitor when he picked her up from jail about 5 p.m.
“Also, she said they cut in half her sentencing again (to) 45 days (two days credit),” he said.
About 2 p.m. Wednesday, visiting Judge Thomas Bender sentenced O’Connell-Nowain to the three-month jail time with one day credit for time served (due to her previous jail booking) with no fine imposed.
O’Connell-Nowain was handcuffed from behind immediately after her sentencing and two marshals escorted her through a side room enroute to jail.
About a dozen of O’Connell-Nowain’s supporters attended the sentencing. Several of them shouted, “We love you, Jenny,” as she was led away.
The District Attorney’s Office had recommended a punishment of one year of informal probation and 30 days of community service with conditions requiring her not to disrupt future public meetings.
The 41-year-old woman told the judge at a previous hearing that she couldn’t in good conscience accept terms of the probation, which included a requirement to mind herself at future Board of Supervisors meetings.
“I don’t want to promise something that I don’t think I can follow,” O’Connell-Nowain told news reporters following her Jan. 14 court appearance.
Bender had warned O’Connell-Nowain during that previous hearing that she could face a maximum jail sentence of 180 days, but the judge opted to cut jail time in half. Jail personnel cut that time in half again later Wednesday.
Bender told O’Connell-Nowain that he thought she was selfish. He said she needed to follow the Board of Supervisors rules by not interrupting a speaker and bringing the meeting to a halt.
“The board is just trying to conduct county business,” Bender said from the bench.
Prior to sentencing, O’Connell-Nowain said her attorney, Michael Borges, told her to be prepared to receive the maximum six-month sentence.
“I don’t know if it’ll be the full six months or if it’ll just be a couple days, a few hours or what it’ll be, but I’m guessing I will touch the (jail) ground. I’m guessing I’ll tap it, plant my flag and claim it for a little while,” she said to reporters in the courthouse hallway while awaiting her afternoon hearing.
Borges told the judge that O’Connell-Nowain didn’t have a prior criminal history and sought a 30-day jail term.
The overcrowded Shasta County Jail has a reputation for having a revolving door with nonviolent suspects being turned loose after their arrests and bookings so cells can be reserved for violent offenders.
What led to arrest
On Dec. 18, 2025, a Shasta County jury found O’Connell-Nowain guilty of disrupting a Board of Supervisors meeting. Jurors deadlocked on a second charge of delaying a peace officer.
She started her 2024 protest when former supervisor Patrick Jones questioned an outside grant that was accepted by the Elections Office.
“I’m not going to listen to this anymore,” O’Connell-Nowain responded as she went from the audience to the front.
She held a sign that read, “Patrick Jones resign.” Her husband, Benjamin Nowain, briefly joined her on the floor before departing.
She also held a sign that said, “Joanna is the true Patriot” in reference to Joanna Francescut, the former assistant registrar of voters who was rejected by the Shasta County board majority for an appointment as acting ROV.
In past interviews, O’Connell-Nowain has said she was upset with Jones’ persistent criticism of county employees and wanted to stand up for Francescut.
Husband shows support
Jenny O’Connell-Nowain, left, and her husband, Benjamin, pose outside the courthouse on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, before she was handcuffed and led away to jail. She was later sent home with an ankle monitor on house arrest. Photo by Mike Chapman for A News Cafe.
O’Connell-Nowain’s husband, Benjamin, reacted to her initial sentencing by saying he totally supports her.
“I am very proud of my wife for standing by her convictions, for standing up for the First Amendment,” Nowain said.
“I think it’s super important that anybody who wants to be involved in these (board) meetings, that they go, they make their voices heard,” he added. “You don’t have to be provocative like me or my wife, but you should be part of the process.”
O’Connell-Nowain is a frequent local protester at street-side demonstrations and counts Mahatma Gandhi and civil-rights leader John Lewis as influences.
O’Connell-Nowain previously said she’ll treat her jail time as an opportunity to examine what’s going on inside the county jail.
Now she won’t get that opportunity for a first-hand look behind bars.
Nowain said he realizes that criminal offenders are sometimes set free from the county jail due to overcrowding, adding that “I don’t believe my wife is a danger to society.”
“I believe she’s being held as a political prisoner,” he said before her quick release.
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