Bucks Co. Among Those With Most Capitol Riot Arrests In Country

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — Among the 257 residents charged in the siege on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 are four from Bucks County, which is tied with Los Angeles County and Franklin County in Ohio as having the highest number of arrestees in the country, according to a report issued by George Washington University on Tuesday.

The four people charged from Bucks County include: Dawn Bancroft, owner of a Cross Fit gym in Plumstead Township; Raechel Genco, a 38-year-old woman from Bristol Borough; Ryan Stephen Samsel, a 37-year-old Bristol man and Genco's boyfriend, who is accused of assaulting a police officer; and Diana Santos-Smith, of Doylestown.

They were among hundreds of protesters who violently breached the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 with the intention of overturning the 2020 election results. Five people died in the riots, including Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick.

People from across the country, as young as 18 and as old as 70, have been charged; 221 are men and 36 are women. Along with New York, Florida and Texas, Pennsylvania has the most number of cases, according to the report.

"The alleged perpetrators are by no means a homogenous group," the report reads. "Taken together, these data show the heterogeneity of the mob that stormed the Capitol. Not only did alleged perpetrators come from a wide range of backgrounds, but the charges they now face — as well as the evidence used against them in criminal court — vary immensely. While these demographic data about individuals’ legal cases are useful in sizing the general threat, they do not tell the full story of who stormed Capitol Hill on January 6th. To gain a better understanding of the different individuals who perpetrated the Capitol Hill siege, it is important to move beyond surface-level information and take a deeper look into the fractured landscape of domestic extremism in the United States."

Those charged with trespassing at the Capitol are said to have entered alongside a group of militia members from extremist groups such as the Oath Keepers, the Proud Boys and Three Percenters, who used a range of communications tools to clear police barriers and infiltrate the building, according to the report.

The report's authors recommend the U.S. government increase access to data on domestic terrorism investigations and improve information sharing between the federal agencies tasked with combating domestic violent extremism.

See related coverage:

• Another Bucks Co. Resident Charged In U.S. Capitol Riots
• Bristol Man Assaulted Officer In Capitol Riots, FBI Says
• Bucks County Gym Owner Charged In Capitol Riots
• More PA Residents Charged In Connection With Capitol Breach

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