Image by Richard Burton from Pixabay 

July 9, 2024 - WASHINGTON – A Texas woman pleaded guilty on July 8, 2024, to assaulting law enforcement during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. 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, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers before U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly. Judge Kelly will sentence Bell on Oct. 17, 2024.

            According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, Bell was present among a crowd of rioters gathered on the east side of the U.S. Capitol building behind a row of police bike rack barricades. As protestors accumulated in this area, U.S. Capitol Police officers approached the barricades in an attempt to calm the increasingly rowdy crowd. Here, Bell had positioned herself at the front of the crowd of protestors.

            Soon, the crowd began to chant at police, and Bell grabbed the barricades and started shaking them while looking in the direction of police. Bell then leaned over the barricades toward the officers, gestured with her middle finger, and began cursing at them, including saying, "f— you," among other things.

            By approximately 2:05 p.m., court documents say that certain protestors on the east side turned violent, pushing through the barricades and forcing the outnumbered U.S. Capitol Police officers to retreat backward, abandoning their posts. Within minutes, hundreds of rioters had flooded into the restricted area on the east side, continuing to force the Capitol Police officers to retreat. Eventually, the mob overcame the officers on the East Rotunda stairs and took over the platform area outside the East Rotunda doors.

            At approximately 2:35 p.m., the mob outside the doors began chanting loudly and excitedly while rioters inside continued attempting to reopen the East Rotunda doors. Some rioters fought with police officers outside the doors, including by assaulting the officers with pepper spray and ripping at least one police riot shield out of an officer's hands. During this chaos, Bell made her way to the front of the mob, positioning herself directly in front of the East Rotunda doors.

            As the rioters inside the building forced the East Rotunda doors open for a second time, Bell reached out and briefly grabbed the door from the outside to help pull it open. As she did so, one Capitol Police officer, who was directly to Bell's right, was attempting to push the door closed, trying to keep the rioters from reopening it. As the mob, including Bell overcame that officer, he became trapped behind one of the two doors that Bell was helping to pull open.

            By 2:36 p.m., the mob, including Bell, had again breached the East Rotunda doors. Bell then entered the building and celebrated shortly after crossing the threshold. Once inside, Bell made her way into the Rotunda and later the Speaker's Lobby. Court records say that Bell repeatedly ignored police commands to leave and instead confronted the officers.

            Bell was later directed by police toward the North Door exit. Here, a  Metropolitan Police Department officer was repeatedly gesturing with his hands towards the exit and verbally ordering rioters to "move." As Bell was directed toward the exit, he spun around towards the officer and forcibly shoved her left shoulder into the officer's body, making contact. Then, using her right hand, she grabbed the officer's outstretched baton and forcibly pulled it baton towards her. Bell then exited the building.

            After leaving the Capitol, Bell made her way to the North Lawn. There, rioters, including Bell, approached and confronted a news crew. Bell then moved toward and reached out aggressively, attempting to push or grab at a journalist who was recording the event on a cell phone. Then, an individual stepped in to protect the journalist, at which point Bell raised her hand towards the individual, which was swatted away, and began attempting to kick the person. Bell then turned her attention to another who physically intervened and attempted to kick that person.

            The FBI arrested Bell on Dec. 7, 2023, in Texas.

            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 was 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 42 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,470 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 530 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.
Source: DOJ Release