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2d ago

Pardoned Jan. 6 Defendant Convicted of Simple Assault for Touching Woman’s Hair on Metro

Prosecutors used metadata from X and other circumstantial evidence to tie a filmed post to the defendant, highlighting how platform records can aid transit-safety probes.

Bryan Betancur holds a Certificate of Pardon from President Donald Trump during a January 6th memorial march marking five years since the attack on January 06, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Commuters on a red line train at the Metro Center metro station in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, April 17, 2025.
Trial begins for man accused in Metro hair touching assaults

Overview

  • A D.C. Superior Court judge found Bryan Betancur guilty of one count of simple assault for secretly touching a woman’s hair on a Red Line train, and a sentencing hearing is scheduled immediately after the verdict.
  • The conviction rested on a video posted to an X account plus metadata and investigative links supplied by Metro Transit Police and the FBI that placed Betancur with the train car and the account.
  • The victim testified that the February incident has left her feeling paranoid and altered how she uses public transit, testimony prosecutors cited to argue for jail time beyond the roughly 125 days Betancur has already served.
  • Betancur previously served time for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and received a pardon from President Donald Trump earlier this year, a fact prosecutors and news reports noted during the trial.
  • He faces additional pending charges, including a D.C. stalking case and an Arlington assault and battery count for a similar alleged incident, which leave his broader legal exposure unresolved.