she should be willing to suffer the consequences for her actions.
And what should the consequences be for an old lady who lived under a tyrannical communist regime for most of her life, and was a doctor in her country, persecuted for being a Falun Gong. What "consequences" would you suggest for speaking out against a tyrant? Throw her in jail like back in the home country?
If they think of prosecuting this courageous lady, there should be protesters for the protester.
Since you are so willing to give the woman a pass on this, how far would you be willing to let her go under the terms of the excuses you have granted to her?
To answer your question directly, what you site are extenuating circumstances regarding the reasoning behind what she did and thus should be taken into consideration by those who make such decisions.
Personally, I would favor her being given the same treatment that Cindy Sheehan got at the SotU.