Department of Justice
- A practicing Massachusetts doctor was arrested and charged in the January 6 Capitol riot this week.
- Prosecutors allege Jacquelyn Starer punched a police officer in the head while inside the Capitol.
- At least 964 people have been arrested in connection with the attack thus far.
A Massachusetts doctor accused of punching a police officer in the head during the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot was arrested and charged on Tuesday.
Dr. Jacquelyn Starer, 68, was charged with several counts in relation to the insurrection, including two felony counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding police officers, and civil disorder.
Starer’s Tuesday arrest came two days before the January 6 congressional committee released its final, 845-page report detailing the Capitol riot and former President Donald Trump’s role in it.
According to court documents, Starer is a practicing physician in Ashland, Massachusetts.
Prosecutors say Starer entered the Capitol approximately 10 minutes after a mob of Trump supporters first breached the building that day. Open-source photos and video from the siege appear to show Starer approaching a group of Metropolitan Police Department officers inside the Capitol before making physical contact with one.
Starer proceeded to punch an officer on the left side of the head, according to investigators. The officer later told prosecutors that a blonde woman wearing a red jacket and hat was responsible for the assault. The unnamed officer said the blonde woman came at her a second time before the officer struck her in response.
Surveillance photos and videos show Starer wearing red-colored clothing and a Trump hat while at the Capitol on January 6. The officer later identified Starer in photos as her attacker, according to court documents.
An anonymous tipster contacted the FBI just days after the attack and told investigators that they were aware prior to the insurrection that Starer had planned to attend the march on the Capitol, prosecutors said. The tipster said Starer had bragged to a mutual acquaintance that she was “prepared” for the event with a mesh knife-proof shirt and bottles of pepper spray, according to court documents.
Investigators then used surveillance phones and videos, as well as phone and hotel records to confirm Starer’s presence in DC near the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
After she is alleged to have punched a police officer, Starer appears to have been affected by chemical irritants that authorities deployed in an effort to curb the mob, according to court documents. Photos from the riot show Starer receiving first aid assistance to her eyes and face.
The doctor did not have a lawyer listed in federal court records as of Friday. An email address appearing to belong to Starer did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
At least 964 people have been arrested in connection with the attack and more than 460 people have pleaded guilty thus far.
