Annie Howell

Case Summary

In response to a search warrant, Facebook provided the FBI with information associated with Annie Howell's account that suggests she was among the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. A Facebook group chat allegedly shows Howell refusing to leave the building when a member of the group chat urged her to exit. "No… No… They just killlex [sic] two f****** women… American women… No… I WATCHED THEM DIE… NO F****** WAY.” According to an FBI affidavit, Facebook also turned over information that indicates that on Jan. 26, Howell "was unable to answer a Facebook call from her father because she was conducting a factory reset of her cell phone and was accessing Facebook from a computer." In that Facebook conversation, Howell's father warned her to “Stay off the clouds!" Tipsters also submitted to federal investigators videos they saw on Howell's social media accounts, including one filmed inside a ransacked room of the Capitol with people chanting, "Whose house? Our house," led by a female voice that investigators believe is Howell's.

Case History

Howell pleaded Guilty to one charge: Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds. The other charges are dismissed. Sentenced 3/2/22 to 36 months of probation, including 60 days of intermittent incarceration; 60 hours of community service, $500 in restitution; $25 assessment fee. Howell received a full pardon on January 20, 2025

Sources

• Primary Documentation
  NPR Jan. 6 Defendant DatabaseNPR
• Primary Documentation
  Underlying court recordCourt record linked by NPR

Case summary, charges, procedural updates and image are drawn from the NPR Jan. 6 archive snapshot dated 2026-09-25 unless otherwise indicated.