The FBI has arrested a Pennsylvania woman accused of using a bullhorn to direct rioters during last month’s Capitol siege, federal prosecutors said.
Rachel Powell turned herself in to the agency Thursday night before she was taken to the Butler County Prison about 1 a.m. Friday, NBC affiliate WPXI reported.
Hours earlier, the FBI secured a search warrant to raid her home in Sandy Lake, about 65 miles north of Pittsburgh, the station reported. Agents searched her house to no avail before she surrendered later in the day.
Powell, a single mother of eight, faces charges of obstruction, depredation of government property, restricted building or grounds with a dangerous weapon, restricted building or grounds and violent entry or disorderly conduct, prosecutors said.
Michael Engle, Powell’s lawyer, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
In an affidavit obtained by NBC News, an FBI officer said Powell can be seen “wearing a pink hat and a black jacket with a fur lined hoodie” in photos and videos from the day of the attack. Those images were shared on the FBI’s Twitter page.
Videos appear to show Powell carrying a battering ram to smash windows and using a bullhorn to direct rioters during the Capitol attack, according to the court document. Powell was heard telling rioters they had “another window to break” and should “coordinate together if you are going to take this building,” the affidavit said.
In a story Tuesday in The New Yorker, Powell acknowledged her role in the events at the Capitol, but said she did not act in coordination with an organized group.
She is scheduled to appear in court Friday afternoon.
Dozens of other people have been arrested or charged after the pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol in a riot that led to the death of five people, including Capitol police Officer Brian Sicknick.
