January 6 rioter who attacked multiple officers sentenced to 17 months in prison

A Texas woman who pleaded guilty to assaulting police during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol was sentenced Thursday to 17 months in prison.

Dana Jean Bell’s conviction is just one of dozens of other defendants who will face accountability in the coming weeks for their role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol, even as former President Donald Trump seeks to rewrite the history of that day in his effort until re-election. — including describing it as a “day of love” during a town hall Wednesday.

Thursday’s sentencing hearing, however, painted a very different picture of the day’s events.

Bell, then 62, was considered a particularly disruptive rioter who engaged in “prolonged, abusive and violent” attacks on law enforcement officers, including one that ultimately took his own life after injuries caused by the riot, prosecutors said. .

This sentence, handed down by D.C. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly, is less than the 27 months in prison the U.S. government requested, and no fine was imposed. Bell must serve an additional three years of supervised release, in addition to paying $2,000 in restitution and the mandatory $100 special assessment.

During the trial, the plaintiff showed multiple video clips showing Bell directing a slew of obscenities and offensive gestures toward law enforcement officers, including Metropolitan Police Department officer Jeffrey Smith, who committed suicide after suffering brain trauma and concussions — injuries that the D.C. Police and Firefighters’ Retirement Relief Board ruled it the “sole and proximate cause of his death.”

Smith’s widow, Erin Smith, was present at the sentencing hearing, where she gave an emotional victim impact statement and asked Bell for the maximum prison sentence.

“Instead of becoming a mother at 35, I became a widow,” she said. “Regardless of what punishment you choose, please remember that I am now serving a life sentence without Jeffrey.”

She emphasized that her husband “died protecting democracy itself,” and that he was not given the opportunity to continue serving the citizens of DC “because of Dana Bell.”

Although Bell was not the direct cause of Smith’s injuries, the prosecutor emphasized that “her verbal barrage is a prominent feature in his bodycam footage from that day” and Erin Smith added that Bell’s actions left her husband “vulnerable” made.

The bodycam footage shows Bell shaking her hand in Officer Smith’s face and yelling, “Get a real job, get a real job! We don’t support y’all anymore. Now NO ONE has your back! No one!”

Judge Kelly called Bell’s conduct “completely disrespectful,” citing her treatment of law enforcement officers, her disregard for the symbolic Capitol building and her role in disrupting the peaceful transition of power. He also found her ‘instituting’ violence (her) apart” from many of the other rioters, and her ability to get as far as the Speaker’s Lobby was “remarkable.”

Also in court was another MPD officer who Bell yelled at, pushed and gave him the middle finger during the attack. The prosecutor added that she took his equipment, “will(ing) to hold his stick and take him out.”

The videos also show Bell shaking police barricades, pulling open the doors of the East Rotunda while an officer was trapped behind the door, throwing a stanchion across the floor, placing himself between officers treating a gunshot wound, ignoring police orders, pushing and elbowing officers, and clinging to police equipment.

She was even seen attacking a news crew before punching and kicking bystanders who tried to intervene.

Citing a forensic psychological report, the defense argued that Bell displayed a “generally calm and friendly” demeanor, only becoming violent after witnessing the shooting death of another rioter, Ashley Babbitt.

Judge Kelly recalled being “stunned” by this report, even “wondering if it was a joke.” He explained that such a report did not establish a medical opinion in any capacity, and he did not accept the explanation that Babbitt was the cause of Bell’s violence “because it is not consistent with evidence.”

In addition to highlighting this discrepancy, the prosecutor pointed to other instances in which the defendant’s characterization of Bell’s actions was deemed “simply untrue,” for which Bell’s attorney took responsibility.

“That’s up to me,” he said. “I am the one responsible for the language.” He added that Bell’s actions and behavior were “contextual,” and acknowledged that he sees things “differently” than the accuser.

In a tear-filled testimony, Bell explained how she felt “ashamed and deeply regretful about it.”

“I have been a staunch supporter of police all my life,” she said, even calling herself “obsessive” and calling them her “heroes.”

Bell’s husband also spoke on behalf of her character, highlighting how she even supported police in 2020 when anti-police sentiment was rampant.

As the videos played, Bell repeatedly turned her head and looked away from the images. She also personally apologized to Erin Smith several times, often looking at her with tears in her eyes.

“They are my choices, my decisions,” she added, apologizing to the government as a whole. “I fully accept responsibility for my criminal conduct that day.”

Although the prosecutor questioned Bell’s character, the judge accepted her remorse and took her early guilty plea into account when determining her sentence.

The court also recognized that Bell had no criminal record, although her actions were still considered premeditated.

“No one denies that she intentionally and purposefully entered the Capitol,” Bell’s own attorney acknowledged.

Federal prosecutors have charged about 1,532 suspects and imposed prison sentences for more than 615 people involved in the attack on the Capitol, according to figures released this month by the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, DC.