SANDY LAKE, Pa. - Almost one year after receiving a presidential pardon, Rachel Powell has been living in Mercer County, where she is attempting to rebuild a life interrupted by federal prison and high-profile criminal charges.

Powell, a mother of eight known nationally as the "pink hat lady" and “bullhorn lady” for her role in the Jan. 6, 2021, events at the U.S. Capitol, was released from federal custody in January 2025. She had served roughly one year of a 57-month sentence before an executive order from the president secured her release.

Now free, Powell continues to post on social media, focusing on securing housing, running a cleaning business, and advocating for others she refers to as "J6 people." However, the transition has been marked by financial instability and reflection on her time behind bars.

Before her conviction, federal investigators dubbed Powell the "bullhorn lady," alleging she played a leading role in the breach. Court affidavits stated she was caught on video wearing a pink hat and using a bullhorn to instruct rioters on the Capitol’s layout, giving orders on how to "take this building." Prosecutors also presented evidence showing Powell using a large pole to smash a window, which she then climbed through to enter the complex.

Today, Powell utilizes social media to document her reintegration into society, marketing her new cleaning venture with a nod to her incarceration.

"From learning to clean in a prison cell to building my own cleaning business today… life is wild," she captioned a November video.

Despite finding work, Powell’s living situation remains in flux. In late 2025, she revealed that she and her family were living in a camper and actively seeking a "very low-cost rent or a rent-to-own home" in Mercer or Venango County. She noted the difficulty of finding a property that would accommodate her "cat, chickens, ducks, and turkeys" while allowing her to stay close to relatives.

"Since being released from prison... I’ve moved four times and am currently staying on a family member’s floor," Powell wrote in October 2025. "I will be reliable with payments and just need a stable place to rebuild."

Powell has emerged as a spokesperson for the Patriot Freedom Project, arguing that a pardon does not instantly resolve the struggles defendants face.

"People believe that because we were pardoned, that life has now gone back to normal, but it has not," she wrote in April 2025. "I myself am not even close to what my old normal was, and likely never will be."

Her advocacy often draws on her personal experiences within the Bureau of Prisons. Powell claims she was "deliberately misclassified" alongside other female defendants, resulting in placement in a high-security facility surrounded by violent offenders despite facing what she characterized as misdemeanor conduct.

She has also expressed frustration with the legal system, drawing contrasts between her treatment and that of other political figures. In April 2025, she commented on the pardon of Hunter Biden, writing, "The difference between J6 people and Hunter’s pardon is a lot of us are still struggling to rebuild our lives while he just got away scot-free."

Court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia confirm that the indictment against Powell was dismissed with prejudice on Jan. 21, 2025. The order, signed by Judge Royce C. Lamberth, cited the executive grant of clemency as the reason for the dismissal, formally ending the legal case.

With her legal battles behind her, Powell credits the pardon for reuniting her family.

"It’s very unnatural not to have affection, and I learned the value of hugs and touch because of this year without it," she wrote regarding her time in prison.

As the fifth anniversary of the Capitol breach approached this week, Powell expressed ambivalence about how to mark the date, describing the anniversary's eve as feeling "more real than a holiday."

"Seems strange to spend the day doing meaningless things, seems strange to treat it like a regular day, and I'm not sure anything will feel right," she wrote.