Crime

Mass. doctor arrested, facing felony charges in connection with Jan. 6 insurrection

Dr. Jacquelyn Starer, 68, of Ashland, is accused of assaulting a police officer, among other charges, during last year’s attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Jacquelyn Starer, in police body-worn camera footage, striking a Metropolitan Police Department officer inside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection, according to the FBI. FBI

By Dialynn Dwyer

December 20, 2022

A Massachusetts doctor who worked at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital was arrested Tuesday by the FBI and is facing multiple felony charges in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Dr. Jacquelyn Starer, 68, of Ashland, has been charged in a criminal complaint, filed in the District of Columbia, with civil disorder; assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers; entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

Starer is accused of illegally entering the Capitol grounds and going into the building through the East Rotunda. Body cameras worn by Metropolitan Police Department officers showed the Massachusetts woman approach officers inside the Capitol around 2:59 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021, punching one of them in the head shortly after, according to prosecutors.

According to investigators, Starer appeared to have been affected by a chemical irritant during an altercation as officers attempted to prevent the rioters from getting through the entrance behind them.

Surveillance video then allegedly showed Starer leaving the Capitol just after 3 p.m.

In response to a request for comment, a spokesperson for Brigham and Women’s Hospital said Starer, who was employed at Faulkner Hospital, is no longer an employee.

“Per hospital policy, the only information we are able to share is employment status,” the statement read. “This individual was a per diem employee who is no longer active at our organization.”

According to the Brigham and Women’s physician directory, Starer was associated with the Addiction Recovery Program at Faulkner Hospital in Jamaica Plain.

Starer is expected to make her initial court appearance Tuesday in Massachusetts, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

According to investigators, on Jan. 11, 2021, someone submitted an anonymous tip to the FBI, stating that they knew Starer had planned to attend the march on the Capitol.

During the course of the investigation, a witness approached by the FBI identified Starer in photos released following the insurrection.

According to the FBI Boston, she is the 19th person to be arrested and charged in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol attack from the area. More than 900 people have been arrested from across the country in connection with the Capitol breach, including more than 270 who are facing charges for assaulting or impeding law enforcement, according to authorities.