Prosecutors said Ms. Powell, a Mercer County mother of eight who is seen in riot videos wearing a distinctive pink hat and bellowing through a bullhorn, has repeatedly violated orders governing her work and home life while awaiting trial on felony counts.
“Although the court has taken the defendant’s release conditions seriously, the defendant has not,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucy Sun said in court papers. “At all hearings the court has emphasized the defendant’s need to comply with release conditions, and has done so as recently as the July 7, 2022 status conference. Despite such emphasis, the defendant committed two more violations of pretrial conditions.
In the third violation, she left her house early before her work window began and told pretrial that she was gardening, which she said was part of her work duties for Mr. Jenkins. When the pretrial officer noted that gardening is not part of her construction job, she said she does whatever Mr. Jenkins tells her to do, prosecutors said. She said her other duties include bank errands and hosting events with Mr. Jenkins in the evenings.
Prosecutors feel otherwise and said Ms. Powell’s current ankle bracelet only alerts pretrial as to whether she is home. Beyond that, she’s been on the honor system as to whether she’s complying with orders.