Background: FILE – Violent insurrectionists loyal to President Donald Trump, storm the Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File). Inset left: Bryan Betancur in a picture taken at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., during the Jan. 6., 2021, insurrection (DOJ). Inset right: Betancur (Metro Transit Police).
A man convicted and then pardoned for entering the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection has been arrested for allegedly touching a woman's hair on a Washington, D.C.-area train.
Bryan Betancur, 28, has been charged with assault and battery for the Sunday "offense" while he was aboard the Washington Metro Silver Line near Clarendon Station in Arlington, Virginia, the Metro Transit Police Department announced. He was arrested on Monday night.
The law enforcement agency wrote on social media on Monday that it was "aware of videos circulating on social media depicting inappropriate behavior toward Metro customers" and that Betancur was wanted on the assault and battery charge. The incident occurred on Sunday at about 10 p.m., and the defendant is alleged to have recorded and broadcasted his own acts.
In a video from a livestream posted to an X account belonging to Betancur, a person's hand could be seen touching at least one passenger's hair on the train on Sunday, local NBC affiliate WRC reported. Amanda Moore, a journalist and activist, said Betancur has exhibited this kind of behavior for years, including stalking and threatening her.
"He has a long history of terrorizing women and teenage girls, and we've all been waiting so long — some people since they were in high school — for this moment," she told the outlet of his recent arrest. "Women, for at least the last 14 years of this guy's life, have been victimized by him, and it's just getting worse and worse."
Betancur pleaded guilty in May 2022 to entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection on the U.S. Capitol. He was subsequently sentenced to four months in prison.
The defendant "posted photos and a video of himself at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, wearing a mask, looking at the camera and flashing the 'ok' hand signal commonly used among white supremacy groups," according to his statement of offense, where he acknowledged the facts against him.
The federal affidavit filed against him on Jan. 15, 2021, said he "is a self-professed white supremacist who has made statements to law enforcement officers that he is a member of several white supremacy organizations." Furthermore, he "has voiced homicidal ideations, made comments about conducting a school shooting, and has researched mass shootings."
As Law&Crime previously reported, Betancur had been on probation in Maryland at the time of the insurrection, but his probation officer granted his request to travel to the nation's capital "in order to distribute Bibles." In reality, per the statement of offense, Betancur "planned in advance" to go to the rally in support of President Donald Trump on Jan. 6, 2021.
On the first day of his second term, on Jan. 20, 2025, Trump pardoned Betancur and more than 1,500 other people either convicted or awaiting trial for charges relating to the insurrection.
The assault and battery charge against Betancur was filed in Arlington County, Virginia, according to WRC. Metro Transit Police have asked anyone with information about him to contact them.
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