A woman who, according to federal prosecutors, led a crowd with a bullhorn during the riot at the Capitol last month, was arrested Thursday and charged with several federal crimes.
According to documents posted on the Department of Justice’s website, Rachel Marie Powell was arrested in Pennsylvania. Powell faces five charges, including seizure of government property, intrusion into a restricted area with a dangerous weapon and obstruction of justice, a violation that carries the possibility of up to 20 years in prison.
According to a CBS affiliate in Pittsburgh, Powell was arrested Thursday night in New Castle, Pa.
The FBI has identified Powell as a woman seen on January 6 in viral social media and news footage of rioters violating the Capitol building. According to a statement from an FBI investigator, Powell was identified using an anonymous tip. after the bureau posted images of her from the Capitol riot on a wanted poster.
The affidavit shows photos of a woman wearing a pink hat using a large pipe as a capram to break into the Capitol building.
It’s unclear whether Powell has a lawyer.
Earlier this week, The New Yorker magazine published an interview with Powell in which she admitted that she was the woman who saw the bullhorn in the videos of the riot. She told the point of sale that she was not part of a conspiracy to break into the Capitol.
“I was not part of a plot – organized, whatever,” Powell said. ‘I have no military background … I’m a mother of eight children. This is it. I’m working. And I garden. And raising chickens. And sell cheese at a farmers market. ‘
“Listen, if someone does not help and guide people, more people will die?” she added when asked about her behavior during the incident. “That’s all I’m going to say about it. I can say no more. I need to talk to a lawyer. ‘