A Texas woman has denounced Donald Trump's rhetoric surrounding the 2020 election after having stormed the capital on Jan. 6, even assaulting law enforcement while she was there.
62-year-old Dana Jean Bell claims she was "duped" by the former President's claims that the 2020 election was stolen, causing her to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6 alongside a mob of other Trump supporters.
Bell "regrets ever having responded to Trump's call," said her lawyer.
On Thursday, Bell was sentenced to 17 months in prison by District Judge Timothy J. Kelly. The sentence is 10 months shorter than what federal prosecutors sought for Bell, claiming that she "belligerently pushed, grabbed, and verbally attacked countless U.S. Capitol Police ('USCP') and Metropolitan Police Department ('MPD') officers who were attempting to clear rioters from inside the United States Capitol Building." She was also ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution.
"As the rioters inside the building forced the East Rotunda doors open, Bell reached out and grabbed the doors from the outside, disregarding that a U.S. Capitol Police officer was pinned behind the doors. By 2:26 p.m., the mob, including Bell, successfully breached the East Rotunda doors," said the Department of Justice in a statement. "Bell then entered the building and celebrated by shouting and raising her hands shortly after crossing the threshold."
One of the officers assaulted by Bell was the late Jeffrey Smith, at who Bell screamed "We don't support y'all anymore. Now NO ONE supports you! Nobody!"
Smith, who was assaulted two more times by rioters on Jan. 6, took his own life 9 days after the incident. He was injured multiple times, including once by a metal object thrown by a member of the mob at the Capitol, but was unable to receive sufficient treatment for his injuries due to treatment facilities being overwhelmed with officers who were injured at the Capitol.
The Department of Justice ruled that Smith's death was in the line of duty, stating that it was caused by his experience and injuries sustained at the Capitol during the riots.
His widow, Erin Smith, provided a victim impact statement at Bell's sentencing on Thursday. She stated that her husband would have survived if "this woman and others not chose violence that fateful day," and that Bell made the decision to "assault and berate police, who, like my husband, held very real jobs, jobs that got four of them killed and hundreds injured."
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