Princeton, Texas woman arrested for assaulting law enforcement and other charges stemming from Jan. 6 Capitol breach
Dec. 8—COLLIN COUNTY — A Princeton,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.
Dana Jean Bell, 65, 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 Thursday in Princeton 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.
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 again 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. She 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.
In an 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. During a confrontation with police 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. She exited the Capitol around 2:56 p.m. after spending approximately thirty minutes inside the building.
The case against Bell 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. The case is being investigated by the FBI's Dallas and Washington field offices, which identified Bell as BOLO No. 318.
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.
