Rachel Marie Powell, a 43-year-old grandmother of six from Sandy Lake, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 57 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release for her role in the January 6 Capitol breach. U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth also imposed over $8,000 in restitution, fines, and fees on Powell.
Known as the "Pink Hat Lady" and the "Bullhorn Lady," Powell faced nine charges, including civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding, and entering a restricted building with a deadly weapon. The court documents and trial evidence highlighted her active participation in the riot, where she was one of the initial intruders, pushing against barricades and encouraging violence against police.
Powell's actions included using an ice axe and a battering ram to break into the Capitol, and she was seen directing others inside the building with detailed instructions. Despite the seriousness of her actions, Powell showed no remorse, continuing to incite political violence post-riot. According to a Department of Justice press release in the days following the breach, "Powell repeatedly bragged about the aggressive behavior of rioters, their violence towards law enforcement, and the eventual retreat of officers."
A self-pitying Powell appeared on CNN last night, the day before she had to report to prison and begin serving her sentence, and demonstrated the kind of "mistakes were made but not by me" fake apology typical of a violent MAGA fanatic. Reflecting on her actions with a sense of disbelief, she said she felt numb when viewing footage of her at the Capitol, admitting, "It's, like, surreal to me. I mean, look how angry I look."
She described the events as escalating violently, leading to her being hit, grabbed, and sprayed, which she claims impaired her rational thinking. "I had an ice axe. That passed through the crowd. Somebody put it in my hands, and it was only in my hands long enough to take out that window pane," she explained, as if the ice axe was a living thing that broke the window on its own, and poor Ms. Powell only happened to have it in her hands at the time.
The interview took a more emotional turn as Powell, crying, spoke about her impending imprisonment. "I love my children so much, and so it's like, the last thing that they can take from me. That'll be the hard part. And I don't deserve this and my kids don't deserve it," she said.
The CNN interviewer asked her, "People watching this might say, well, you were duped by Trump and everybody around him, and the election wasn't really stolen. And you buying into this has kind of ruined your life. Do you ever feel a bit pissed off with Trump?"
"No, absolutely not. I don't," said Powell. "Fifteen years ago, if there would have been a protest about election fraud, I would have gone to those, because our whole country and everything about our lives is determined by voting."
The CNN interviewer said, "Surely in the last three years being locked in here, have you ever had a moment where you're like, you know, 'maybe I'm wrong. Maybe Biden actually won the election. Maybe I'm the conspiracy theorist?'"
"No, not at all," Powell said.
Post by @cnnView on Threads
