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Pa. woman is convicted of Jan. 6 riot charges

A Pennsylvania woman who used a bullhorn to direct rioters attacking the U.S. Capitol was convicted on Tuesday of charges that she joined the mob in an attempt to keep President Joe Biden out of the White House.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth heard testimony without a jury before he convicted Rachel Marie Powell of felony charges stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, siege. Powell, who was convicted of all nine counts in her indictment, is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 17, according to court records.

Powell, wearing a distinctive pink hat and fur-lined jacket hoodie, joined a mob of rioters who confronted police officers at bike rack barriers on the west side of the Capitol. She used her back to push against the police line, prosecutors said.

A video captured Powell using a bullhorn to encourage other rioters to “coordinate together if you’re going to take this building.” She also gave them “very detailed instructions” about the layout of the Capitol, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit.

Powell told rioters they had “another window to break.” She herself used an ice-axe and a large pipe to break a window, according to prosecutors.

Powell, 41, of Sandy Lake, Mercer County, waived her right to a jury trial. The judge convicted her of charges that she interfered with police and obstructed the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress for certifying Biden’s 2020 electoral victory.

FILE - Insurrectionists loyal to President Donald Trump breach the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Jan. 6, 2021. Rachel Marie Powell, a Pennsylvania woman who used a bullhorn to direct rioters attacking the U.S. Capitol has been convicted of charges that she joined the mob in an attempt to keep President Joe Biden out of the White House. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)