Hadley woman pardoned for role in January 6 Capitol riot
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Katelyn Bartow of Hadley was one of the approximately 2,500 people who stormed the capitol on January 6th, 2021. Many rioters aimed to halt the electoral college certification of Joe Biden as president based on the false notion that Donald Trump won. But Bartow says she’s not political and isn’t even sure the election was stolen. She says she acted for another cause close to her heart.
“FREEDOM!” the 31-year-old exclaimed over a Zoom interview with NEWS10.
Bartow admitted she entered a door into the US Capitol on January 6th. Federal Government documents show her picking up trash inside the capitol on her TikTok account. Another video shows her walking through Capitol corridors, even admitting to her actions in a comment. She claims she didn't witness any violence.
“No one started storming until we started getting shot at” Bartow claimed. “People were just kind of walking around drinking beers and looking at art so it was kind of silly. So I said guys you know let's get out of here” she also claimed.
Prior to the pardon, Bartow was charged with parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a capitol building. She faced a year of probation and about $1,600 in fines.
“They took my passport I wasn't allowed to travel outside the country. They took my phone” Bartow described. “I had to have an ankle bracelet for 3 months. Home confinement, but it didn't work because we didn't have cell service so I had to do an app and take pictures of myself” she added.
The woman with a half-Haitian mother and a Haitian husband with whom she has children doesn’t quite fit the profile of who you’d expect a J6 rioter to be.
“[I've heard in the news and in the media that] Everyone who loves Trump is sort of these right white redneck sort of people but that's not what I saw. There were probably more Asians than anything" Bartow claimed.
So why did she storm the capitol in support of Trump?
“The sex trafficking industry in itself has really shaped my view because it's personal" she added.
Bartow says she survived childhood sexual abuse. It inspired her to fight sex trafficking in Haiti with an organization she wouldn’t specify due to security concerns. She claims Trump policies that she again cannot identify for security reasons aided her efforts.
“We were able to go into different borders You were able to get the equipment that we needed,” said Bartow. “If you haven’t had to see it...sorry,” she said emotionally.
Bartow says she is now absolved of her remaining two weeks of community service. Her brother Travis was also charged in the riots and pardoned.