Ronan Farrow piece on Bullhorn Lady (who was NOT Lauren Boebert's mom)
Just published by the New Yorker:
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/a-pennsylvania-mothers-path-to-insurrection-capitol-riot
On January 6th, during the storming of the United States Capitol, Powell made good on that threat. Videos show her, wearing a pink hat and sunglasses, using a battering ram to smash a window and a bullhorn to issue orders. “People should probably coördinate together if you’re going to take this building,” she called out, leaning through a shattered window and addressing a group of rioters already inside. “We got another window to break to make in-and-out easy.”
In recent weeks, as journalists and law-enforcement officials tried to identify participants in the assault, she came to be known as “Bullhorn Lady” and “Pink Hat Lady.” She appeared on an F.B.I. “Wanted” poster, was featured in cable-television news segments, and became an obsessive focus of crowdsourced investigative efforts by laypeople and experts. Forrest Rogers, a German-American business consultant who is part of a Twitter group called the Deep State Dogs, recently identified Powell and reported her name to the F.B.I. She is now being sought by law enforcement.
In her first public comments since the riot, Powell acknowledged her role in the events at the Capitol. During a two-hour telephone interview, she claimed that her conduct had been spontaneous, contrary to widespread speculation that she had acted in coördination with an organized group. “I was not part of a plot—organized, whatever,” Powell, who was speaking from an undisclosed location, told me. “I have no military background. . . . I’m a mom with eight kids. That’s it. I work. And I garden. And raise chickens. And sell cheese at a farmers’ market.” During the interview, she reviewed photographs and videos of the Bullhorn Lady, acknowledging that many of the images showed her, and offered detailed descriptions of the skirmishes they depicted. She declined to comment on some of her conduct—including smashing windows and shouting orders to fellow-rioters—that could carry criminal charges. “Listen, if somebody doesn’t help and direct people, then do more people die?” she said. “That’s all I’m going to say about that. I can’t say anymore. I need to talk to an attorney.”
-snip-
Last November, Powell voted for Trump. “It was a little bit of a hard decision for me, and I didn’t make that decision to vote for him till two months before the election,” she said. “I appreciate his business mind. Economy-wise, he has it going on. He loves America.” Ultimately, she concluded, she “couldn’t vote for the other person. I really don’t think Biden or Harris will be good for the country.”
Concerns about mask requirements, which she called a “liberty issue,” were instrumental in her decision. She claimed that the risks of the coronavirus had been overstated by public-health officials, saying that she had not seen many deaths in her county. On November 5th, 2020, she wrote in a Facebook comment directed at a friend, “I won’t get a vaccine either. I hear what you’re saying about the whole world being in on the conspiracy as far as the corona virus goes.” On December 27th, she posted, “I’m unashamedly a ‘super spreader,’ ” attaching photographs of crowded, mask-free holiday and birthday parties. That day, she uploaded a video of a large maskless meal, during which several children said, “No masks,” and Powell could be heard saying, “The masks are total bullcrap. You guys just need to get out there and live. Get arrested—it’s fine.”
-snip-
Much more at the link.
And yes, she needs to talk to an attorney. She's going to spend a lot of time talking to attorneys.
= new reply since forum marked as read
"I was just strolling through Washington DC with my bullhorn on that day, as I often do whenever I have time to travel there, and I just got swept away by the mob of people."
So is one of Trump's ex-wives (who is also an anti-vaxxer).
Which is why your rationale for being green does matter.
There are a handful of extremists who consider themselves green. I consider them an albatross around the neck of environmental movement. Sleazy corporations and conservative politicians use them to attack actual environmentalists.
We do need better education systems worldwide. Hell there are lots of flaws in my own education (especially primary/secondary education and that does weaken one's foundations). But because I continued in science and consider all forms of religion/whackadoodling* anathema, I have no urge to go and storm government buildings even when they are filled with insane conservatives 
.
(* if Bush and Palin can make up words, so can I.)
Groups like that are an important component of human peace and survival. I just simply call it community, whether it involves two people or two thousand and it keeps us interconnected and working together.
I watched our communities start to unravel in the 60s when Walmart and Kmart caused the failure of thousands of small business like grocery and hardware stores and feed stores where people gathered locally to socialize and exchange warm greetings and ideas. But, it was celebrated 'cause of cheap Chinese imports and cutthroat low prices.
Nowadays, about all that left to call community is the churches and they're now most all neck-deep into politics and making money.
Sad for this old-fashioned man.......
Some gardeners are relative newbies that have fallen into the right-wing rabbit hole and are doing it as survivalists and to save money.
They probably pack heat when tilling....
On the other hand, I suspect most sincere long-term gardeners are lovers of Mother Nature and do it partly to stay connected to her and to stay humble (and eat healthier too).
Those folks are mostly liberal-leaning and just love getting their hands dirty and sharing the fruits of their labor with others.
Thanks for sharing your experience with those folks. I think you understand that most of us would not associate the right-wing with gardening (or birding or conservation) but I learn something new every day!
KY
