Reporter asks mom going to prison for Jan. 6 if she blames Trump. Hear her response

In his brief statement before the court today, the former president again referred to a document that he has been promoting lately and that, according to him, proves his accusations of electoral fraud. It is not like this. The document's claims are unproven or debunked. It is clear, however, that three years ago millions of people believed these lies. On January 6, thousands of people acted violently. And today one of them, a 42-year-old grandmother, reported to a federal

prison

in West Virginia to begin serving a long sentence in Estonia. Sullivan recently spoke with her about whether he still believes the lies that turned her into a Capitol rioter.

How do you feel when you see this? You know, I think I feel more numb when I look at these things. It's kind of surreal to me. I mean, look how angry I look. You'd admit this looks bad. Completely. You know how silly I feel when I look at this photo and think: Oh my God. Rachel Powell, also known as the Lady in the Pink Hat, is about to begin a five-year

prison

sentence for her role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. She is a mother of eight children and grandmother of six, and she spent most of the last three years under house detention in rural Pennsylvania.

Is this what she expected from an insurrectionist, from a terrorist? How do I have time to plan an insurrection when my life is so busy? Bake cake and raise babies for 30 bucks? Why did you decide to go to D.C.? January 6th? Well, how often does a president invite you to attend a rally? It does not happen. At some point, this goes from a peaceful protest to having an ice ax in your hand, breaking a window, trying to get some kind of capital. How did that happen? He became violent and was violent for a while. And I'm completely sore and because they had hit you.

Oh man. They had hit me with a baton. They grabbed me and threw me. I have been sprayed. I mean, my whole body was on fire. I don't think there was a rational thought in my head at that moment. He didn't have an ice ax to cut through the crowd. Someone put it in my hands and it was only in my hands long enough to take the glass out of the window. And yet I have been accused of carrying a deadly weapon. Did someone give you the ice? Yes. Who? I don't know. You do not remember?

I don't know who they were. I don't know where it came from. I don't know where he went. I grew up, and I guess you probably did too, when you were told, you know, if a police officer tells you to do something, you should probably do it. That didn't happen that day. Of course, the police were telling them to leave. They never actually told us to leave. I've never had an officer look at me and say, You have to leave or I'll arrest you. Images like this one of Rachel seen here in the hooded fur coat pushing against a police line and messages she posted on social media condoning violence before January 6 were used by prosecutors to argue that Rachel was not just a peaceful protester who got caught up in the chaos of the day.

Do you regret that day? I'm sorry I have a lot of remorse for ruining my family's life. I mean, in one day I destroyed everything for really nothing. I have no regrets about attending the protests. I have no remorse for speaking out and saying that I believe the election was stolen from me. I feel remorse for breaking a window and destroying my entire family's lives and for thinking irrationally and not realizing things like, why don't you sit in on this protest? A federal judge convicted Rachel on nine counts, including destruction of government property, obstruction of an official proceeding and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds.

I'm sorry. It's like my last weekend before I go in, but I think I love my kids a lot. And it seems like the last thing they can take from me. That will be the difficult part. And I don't deserve this. And my children don't deserve it. Haven't we been through enough things like this? The last thing we have to lose is each other. The prosecutor said Rachel showed nothing but contempt for the court and the legal system. You said, do you know you feel stupid? Yes. Deceived? Yes. Why do you feel cheated on January 6th?

I can't prove it was a setup, but I feel like what if it was? Rachel is not alone. A quarter of Americans believe in the conspiracy theory. The January 6 attack was instigated by the FBI. People watching this might say: Well, Trump and everyone around him cheated and the election wasn't actually stolen. And the fact that you have accepted this has ruined your life. Have you ever felt a little angry at Trump? No absolutely not. No. I have had problems with this electoral process for years and years. 15 years ago, if there had been protests about voter fraud, I would have gone to them because our entire country and everything about our lives is determined by the vote.

Probably in the last three years of being locked up here. Have you ever had a moment like, you know, maybe I'm wrong, maybe Biden really won the election? Maybe I'm the conspiracy theorist. Not at all. He must spend the next few years behind bars, but he believes one man could change that. So this hat says: Rachel, we love you, Trump. All three of my kids met Trump and you can see them one of the times here. Trump was very encouraging to them. He has made it clear that he will forgive us. There is a lot at stake in this election, totally for the country, but also for you personally.

Oh man. For me it is huge. For me it's like life or death and it's huge. If Trump wins, you could get out of prison. Correct. I'll get out of prison. It's surprising to me, even though it shouldn't be, you know, she spent three years locked up in her house and could have done a little research. And she continues to believe things that are patently false and simply lies. I mean, it's pathetic. And look, it's incredible. She is also teaching this to her children. I mean, and I'm stunned. I mean, what makes Rachel's story even more incredible is that she didn't even vote for Trump in 2016.

She wasn't particularly politically active. She really believes in voting for a while. She was covered in confinement. She said she began attending anti-lockdown protests that led to the theft being stopped. And that, of course, led her to the sixth of January, where, look, I mean, she claims that the ax was put in her hand and everything else, and she doesn't see this as an insurrection, clearly, of course, she doesn't. do you agree. . But look, Anderson, I think a lot of our viewers, and I certainly already know from some of our viewers commenting online, ask why? Why are we talking to someone like Rachel Powell?

The reality is that she is not alone. I find it informative to know about her. I mean, yeah, talk about the psychology of mental illness of some people who support the former president and why. Yes. And tens of millions of Americans believe falsehoods about the election. And now, of course, you even see the conspiracy theories about the day itself. Good. All his being fooled, saying, I mean, don't insult. Fascinating. Thank you.