Image by Richard Burton from Pixabay
December 8, 2023 - A Texas woman has been arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges, including for assaulting law enforcement during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Her actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.
Dana Jean Bell, 65, of Princeton, Texas, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with felony offenses of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder. In addition to the felonies, Bell is charged with multiple misdemeanor offenses, including knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in the Capitol grounds or buildings; parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.
Bell was arrested on Thursday in Princeton, Texas, and made her initial appearance in the Eastern District of Texas.
According to court documents, open-source video footage, and other evidence, Bell was identified among a crowd of rioters inside the restricted area of the Capitol grounds and inside the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021. Bell was depicted as wearing a dark leather-type jacket, a white long-sleeve shirt with a design on the front, and blue jeans. She was sometimes seen carrying a purple backpack, a gray knit winter hat, and an American flag. She was also seen, at times, carrying a cell phone with a folio-style cover that was rose in color and consisted of an American flag backdrop and images of former President Donald Trump.
In open-source video posted to social media, Bell can be seen assaulting a member of the local D.C. media. In the video, an angry group of rioters yelled at members of the media and called them "traitors" and "fake news" and told them to "get out." They used expletives and "flipped off" the camera crew. In the video, Bell appeared to move forward, reached out, and aggressively attempted to push or grab at the media member. Bell's distinctive telephone case can be observed in video footage capturing the assault.
Bell then appeared to assault a second member of the media who stepped in to intervene. After the second assault, Bell then turned her attention to the first media member. Bell aggressively engaged with the reporter and kicked the reporter in the front lower legs.
After the alleged assault, Bell made her way to the Capitol building itself and pushed her way to the Rotunda doors, which were being actively protected by law enforcement personnel. As law enforcement actively attempted to keep a door to the Capitol Building closed to prevent further breach, Bell attempted to pull that door open. Bell successfully entered the Capitol around 2:26 p.m., soon after the Rotunda Doors were first breached. In one open-source video, Bell appeared to celebrate her entry into the Capitol.
Bell then walked through the building, including the Rotunda, where she is seen on video taking pictures or videos with her cell phone. In another open-source video, within a minute of the rioters' attempted breach of the Speakers' Lobby, rather than heed officers' orders for the crowd to disperse and/or back up so they could render aid to an injured rioter, Bell instead approached the officers, and aggressively yelled at them, showing them her middle finger.
Bell is also seen on body-worn camera footage, where she acted aggressively and uttered threats or insulting language very close to officers' faces. At one point, she can be heard calling a police officer a "f— p— traitor," "p— traitor," and a "c—." Bell is also heard telling officers, "Do not touch me," while she resisted and/or pushed back against officers as she was forced to exit the Capitol. She is also heard telling a police officer, "y'all suck" while flipping her middle finger in the officer's face.
During this confrontation, at approximately 2:55 p.m., Bell grabbed an officer's baton with her right hand and actively resisted and/or pushed against an officer while speaking aggressively toward them. Bell exited the Capitol around 2:56 p.m. after spending approximately thirty minutes inside the building.
This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Texas.
This case is being investigated by the FBI's Dallas and Washington Field Offices, which identified Bell as BOLO (Be on the Lookout) #318. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.
In the 35 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,230 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 440 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
