Pardoned Jan 6 Rioter Bryan Betancur Back in Jail Amid New Stalking Allegations

Bryan Betancur, one of the hundreds pardoned by Donald Trump after participating in the January 6 Capitol attack, is back behind bars facing new stalking allegations. This latest arrest adds to a growing list of troubling behavior by Betancur, whose history of harassment and violence underscores the reckless consequences of Trump’s broad pardons for insurrectionists.

Betancur was initially arrested for allegedly touching multiple women without consent on the D.C. Metro, even livestreaming himself stroking their hair. Despite these serious accusations, Judge Renee Raymond released him under strict conditions, including wearing a GPS ankle monitor and avoiding Metro stations. Prosecutors now say Betancur flagrantly violated these terms.

Court documents reveal Betancur stalked a woman in Washington, D.C., using social media platforms Telegram and X to send disturbing messages about her mental health, feet, and sexually explicit topics throughout 2024 and 2025. When the woman attended a public event, Betancur appeared, gave a Nazi salute, and attempted to have her removed. He later livestreamed himself near the Supreme Court demanding to know her whereabouts during hearings on Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order.

Betancur’s violent tendencies are not new. Prior to January 6, he had a pre-existing conviction for breaking into an elementary school and was wearing an ankle monitor. Federal prosecutors uncovered his obsession with being a “lone-wolf killer” and his connections to white supremacist groups. He spent four months in jail for his Capitol riot involvement before Trump pardoned him in one of his first acts in office.

Betancur is far from an isolated case. Other pardoned rioters have also landed in serious trouble, including Christopher Moynihan, detained for threatening to assassinate House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Andrew Paul Johnson, sentenced to life for child molestation.

This pattern reveals a disturbing truth: Trump’s pardons rewarded dangerous individuals who continue to pose threats to public safety and democratic norms. The administration’s abuse of the pardon power not only undermines justice but actively endangers communities by enabling violent extremists to evade accountability.

Only Clowns Are Orange will keep tracking these stories as Trump’s pardons continue to unravel the rule of law and fuel ongoing threats to democracy and civil rights.