Heather Shaner ’78 has gained significant media attention since this summer for her representation and education of defendants involved in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
In June, a Huffington Post article profiled Shaner’s unusual approach to defending several of the people charged in the riot, which includes recommending civics- and history-based books and movies and urging defendants to write self-reflection papers. Shaner then spoke to The Washington Post about the thought process behind her education-focused representation, and she participated in an interview on NPR’s Morning Edition with other Capitol Riot defense attorneys. In the NPR piece, the attorneys discussed the “nasty emails, late-night phone calls and even death threats” they’ve received for their work on the case. The Post piece explains the reason behind Shaner’s approach: “She wants to help them learn about the past to better understand their place in it.”
In September, Shaner was named to Washingtonian Magazine’s “Five People We’d Love to Hang Out With” list for the month. Washingtonian’s “Guest List” identifies five people from the D.C. community each month that the Washingtonian staff would like to have dinner with.