A Pennsylvania woman, Rachel Marie Powell, has been convicted of participating in the attack on the U.S. Capitol in an effort to prevent President Joe Biden from taking office. The conviction came after U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth heard testimonies without a jury. Powell was found guilty on all nine counts of her indictment and is scheduled to be sentenced on October 17.
During the siege, Powell, distinguished by her pink hat and fur-lined jacket hoodie, joined a mob of rioters who confronted police officers at the Capitol’s bike rack barriers. She actively pushed against the police line with her back. In a video captured during the incident, Powell is seen using a bullhorn to rally other rioters and provide them with specific instructions about the Capitol’s layout. She even encouraged them to coordinate their efforts to “take this building.” Prosecutors revealed that she used an ice-axe and a large pipe to break a window herself.
Powell, aged 41 and from Sandy Lake, Pennsylvania, decided to forgo a jury trial. Instead, the judge convicted her on charges of obstructing the joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021, where Biden’s 2020 electoral victory over Donald Trump was being certified. Although prosecutors requested to jail Powell until her sentencing, the judge allowed her to remain free until the sentencing hearing. Powell’s lawyer declined to comment on the verdict.
At a hearing in February 2021, a prosecutor stated that Powell played a leading role in the riot, describing her as “front and center in the incursion.” FBI agents arrested Powell nearly a month after the riot and discovered smashed cellular phones, gun paraphernalia, and other weapons during a search of her home. It was revealed that Powell left her six minor children at home when she attended the “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington.
Before her arrest, Powell gave an interview to The New Yorker, which published an article titled “A Pennsylvania Mother’s Path to Insurrection.” In the interview, she questioned whether more people would have died if someone hadn’t directed and assisted the rioters. Prosecutors revealed that Powell had shown a tendency toward violence prior to the riot, as she posted on Facebook in October 2020 expressing agreement with the possibility of a civil war. She also expressed doubt about fixing the government through political means and suggested that bloodshed might be necessary.
Prosecutors also disclosed that Powell described carrying out surveillance on an unidentified public official’s home in a November 2020 message to an individual who expressed fear about the purpose of her surveillance. To date, more than 1,000 individuals have been charged in connection with the Capitol riot. Among them, approximately 100 have been convicted through jury trials or by judges, while over 600 have pleaded guilty.
Note: Associated Press writer Alanna Durkin Richer in Boston contributed to this report.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
