Photo via Butler County Prison, @ryanjreilly/Twitter
April 9, 2021, 11:15 am
Accused Capitol insurrectionist Rachel Powell, better known as “bullhorn lady” for her appearance in multiple videos from that day yelling with a bullhorn, has been granted conditional release from jail as she battles various federal charges for participating in the riot.
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One of those conditions, according to HuffPost reporter Ryan J. Reilly, is that she “must wear a mask whenever she leaves her residence.”
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This condition, set by Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, was definitely going to be a problem for Powell due to the fact that she is an anti-masker and posted anti-mask propaganda to her social media accounts before she traveled to D.C. on January 6.
Her response to this order has reportedly been to wear a completely useless mesh mask in order to spite the judge who was kind enough to release her from jail.
Powell was released on a $10,000 bond after agreeing to electronic monitoring, and this release was upheld by Judge Howell in February after it was challenged by prosecutors. He reasoned that other accused insurrectionists facing more serious charges, such as members of the notoriously violent far-right group the “Proud Boys,” had also been released from jail pending their trials even though they were arguably more dangerous than the bullhorn lady.
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He may now be regretting his decision as Powell is flagrantly flouting his orders by wearing a mesh mask in public spaces. If he gets wind of this behavior, however, Powell could find herself back behind bars for contempt of court.
Lawyers are already chiming in on Reilly’s post to note that judges don’t tend to take these kinds of tricks to get around the spirit of their orders with good humor.
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While perhaps not as dangerous as Proud Boys or Oath Keepers with zip-tie handcuffs and firearms, Powell was filmed directing these individuals on how to enter other rooms in the Capitol building and at one point wielding an axe and a metal or wooden pole. She was also caught on tape using a battering ram against one of the building’s windows, eventually breaking it.
Her defense for these actions has been that somebody had to lead the mob, and if not, maybe, hypothetically more people could have died than the five who did in spite of her supposed benevolent leadership.
“Listen, if somebody doesn’t help and direct people, then do more people die?” she said.
I always advise my clients to mock the Court’s order.
Just kidding. I’d be yelling at her on the phone as soon as I saw this.
— Mr. Algorithm
(@APMC1985) April 9, 2021
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No word yet on whether and how Judge Howell will respond to the news of the bullhorn lady flouting his orders.
*First Published: April 9, 2021, 11:15 am
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