WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Mercer County mother of eight charged in the January insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was facing the possibility of more jail time after she appeared to mock a judge’s mandate.
Rachel Powell, 40, was released on bond in March and ordered to follow the state’s Covid-19 masking mandate as part of the conditions of her release.
But Powell was seen in a social media video in April wearing a mesh mask which clearly showed her nose and mouth.
Powell made the video while working at Mr. Bookman, a new bookstore in Franklin, Pa.
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U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth filed an order questioning whether Powell, who is known to be vehemently anti-mask, was mocking the court’s order.
In Powell’s response, filed in court on Monday, she acknowledged that wearing the mask was a “poor decision” and apologized for her behavior. She said her employer did not want employees wearing masks while interacting with customers so Powell tried to find a work-around to comply with the court order.
She told the court she saw stories about singer Lana Del Ray making a mask with a clear plastic barrier under a see-through fabric and was trying to mimic that.
“The court is satisfied with defendant’s show-cause filing,” Lamberth wrote. “At this time, it has no reason to believe that her apology is not genuine and that she will not continue to comply with her conditions of pre-trial release.”
Powell was arrested Feb. 4 and charged with obstruction, depredation of government property, being in a restricted building with a dangerous weapon and violent entry or disorderly conduct.
Video footage captured during the Jan. 6 riot showed a woman wearing a pink hat and black jacket with a fur-lined hood, later identified as Powell, using a pipe as a battering ramp to break a window. She also used a bullhorn to instruct others where to move in the building, according to a criminal complaint filed against her.
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