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'Bullhorn Lady' sentenced to nearly 5 years in prison for encouraging mob, smashing window on Jan. 6

Prosecutors said Rachel Powell, of Pennsylvania, tried to portray herself as a "victim" even after her conviction on multiple felony counts.

WASHINGTON — A Pennsylvania woman known as “Bullhorn Lady” for her efforts to encourage other rioters to enter the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 was sentenced Tuesday to nearly five years in prison.

Rachel Marie Powell, 43, was convicted earlier this year in a bench trial of multiple felony counts for her role in the riot, including obstruction of an official proceeding, civil disorder and entering and remaining in a restricted area with a dangerous weapon. Powell can be heard on Jan. 6 using a bullhorn to tell other rioters, “People should probably coordinate together if you’re going to take this building.” Although she was convicted of using an ice ax to smash a window in an effort to create an entryway into a congressional office, she avoided the more serious felony version that has resulted in a terrorism enhancement in other Jan. 6 cases.

Powell, a mother of eight and grandmother of four, told U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth she had succumbed to the “toxic” partisan divide in the country when she joined thousands of other supporters of former President Donald Trump in a riot at the Capitol. On Tuesday, she begged Lamberth for mercy, saying if she received prison time her 15-year-old son would have to assume responsibility for her young children.

“I hate how this feels,” Powell said. “Like I threw my family right in the garbage.”

Credit: Department of Justice
Rachel Powell, of Pennsylvania, pictured using an ice ax to smash a window at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Powell’s attorney, Nicholas Smith, argued she shouldn’t receive a longer prison term than “QAnon Shaman” Jacob Chansley, who Lamberth sentenced to four years in prison. However, Lamberth said Chansley had pleaded guilty and taken responsibility for his actions – and had done so early on.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucy Sun highlighted Powell’s continued downplaying and denial of her actions on Jan. 6, including an interview she participated in the night before her sentencing hearing on a show hosted by former White House adviser Steve Bannon. On social media, Powell has repeatedly blamed police for the violence at the Capitol – writing in one instance that police “instigated us and brutally abused the whole crowd.”

“Since her arrest in this case, Powell has tried to portray herself as a victim and tried to shift the narrative from ‘war’ to ‘police brutality,’” Sun wrote. “Indeed, despite her conviction, Powell has taken no personal responsibility and instead blames the police for her conduct on January 6.”

Lamberth, who was nominated to the federal bench in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan, said Powell had said “all the right things today” but that it didn’t erase her conduct on Jan. 6 or her lack of remorse since.

“You have skated along for a long time now,” Lamberth said.

Ultimately, Lamberth sentenced her to a bottom-of-the-guidelines sentence of 57 months, or just under five years, in prison. That’s less than the eight years prosecutors sought, but far more than the three years of supervised release Powell had requested. Lamberth also ordered her to pay a $5,000 fine and more than $2,700 in restitution for damage to the Capitol. After her prison sentence, Powell will also have to serve three years on supervised release.

Lamberth granted a request from Powell’s attorney for her to be allowed to self-surrender. He set a surrender date of Jan. 5.

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