‘Bullhorn Lady’ Mother in Pennsylvania Arrested Over Capitol Riot
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The mother of eight who had been spotted by sleuths in videos of the riot appearing to direct assailants was apprehended Thursday night, authorities say.
... Rachel Marie Powell of Sandy Lake, Pennsylvania, “is in custody,” Margaret Philbin, a spokesperson for the Pittsburgh U.S. Attorney’s Office, told The Daily Beast.
Powell, 40, was apprehended Thursday night in New Castle, according to Philbin. She could not immediately be reached for comment.
The cheese and yogurt purveyor—dubbed “the bullhorn lady” after video emerged of Powell appearing to shout orders through a bullhorn during the Jan. 6 sacking of the Capitol—was apparently not home when the FBI raided her house Thursday afternoon. Neighbors told local news reporters that Powell and her family had lived there for several years but mostly kept to themselves.
According to a complaint filed Friday in federal court, Powell is facing charges of obstruction, depredation of government property, entering a restricted building with a dangerous weapon, and violent entry/disorderly conduct.
The filing says Powell used a pipe to smash a window at the Capitol, causing more than $1,000 in damages. An anonymous tipster first outed Powell to the FBI, it explains, and gave agents the link to Powell’s Facebook profile. There, agents were able to match photos of Powell wearing a distinctive set of earmuffs with those she was seen wearing at the Capitol....
Powell, who did not speak and remained expressionless during the hearing, faces decades behind bars, as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines, if convicted on all counts.
After being seen on video during the Jan. 6 riot in a pink hat and sunglasses, Powell gained her signature moniker, though she was also known as “Pink Hat Lady.”
“People should probably coordinate together if you’re going to take this building,” Powell shouted through a shattered window to a group of insurrectionists inside the Capitol. “We got another window to break to make in-and-out easy.” ...
“It isn’t to [sic] late to wake up, say no, and restore freedoms,” she wrote on Facebook last May.
Powell was reportedly influenced by Infowars founder Alex Jones, who has claimed the Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax, and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has made countless false claims while serving as Donald Trump’s personal attorney....
Two other alleged insurrectionists were arrested Thursday, after being identified by investigators as having participated in the Jan. 6 riot.
Kyle Fitzsimons of Lebanon, Maine was picked up for his alleged role in the siege, according to the FBI’s Boston Division. Fitzsimons—who was seen wearing rubber boots and a fur pelt around his neck—was at the front of a pack of rioters and was seen “grabbing at officers” trying to hold back the crowd, says a criminal complaint charging the 37-year-old with assault, disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, civil disorder, and entering or remaining in a restricted building.
“After being struck by officers’ batons, Fitzsimons got up and moved towards the middle of the archway; he lowered his shoulder and charged at the line of officers,” the filing says.
In a subsequent interview with The Rochester Voice, Fitzsimons claimed he had been forced up to the front of the crowd, and said his wounds from the clubbing required six stitches. He told the paper that he worked as a butcher, and was wearing his butcher jacket during the Capitol siege. The Capitol siege was a “peaceful protest gone wrong,” Fitzsimons said during a Lebanon, Maine, town meeting on Jan. 7, suggesting falsely that the violence was a “set-up” to cast blame on Trump supporters....