Area doctor who is charged with punching police officer in the head in failed Capitol coup seeks to cop a plea

Dr. Jacquelyn Starer, an Ashland gynecologist and addiction-recovery specialist formerly affiliated with Faulkner Hospital in Jamaica Plain, is negotiating a possible plea deal for the way she was charged with punching a DC cop in the head during the failed Jan. 6 coup attempt in Washington, according to court records.

Timothy Kelly, a judge in US District Court in Washington, has set a Feb. 23 hearing date to discuss the status of the case. The hearing had originally been scheduled for Jan. 8, but Kelly moved it back because of " the parties' need for additional time to conduct plea negotiations."

Just last week, Joseph Fisher, a retired Boston Police K9 officer from Plymouth, pleaded guilty to, among other things, using a chair to try to obstruct a Capitol Police officer who was chasing another insurrectionist who had sprayed cops with mace. He faces sentencing on May 24. One of the organizers of a Massachusetts Vanilla ISIS bus trip to DC, Mark Sahady, is now scheduled for trial on Aug. 12, after having his case delayed several times because he keeps firing and hiring attorneys, court records show.

According to an affidavit by an FBI agent on the Starer case, Starer was one of the more active participants inside the Capitol during the would-be putsch, at least until police sprayed her with mace and she was forced to retreat outside for some ad-hoc medical attention:

Officer M.B. stated that a blonde woman wearing a red jacket and hat punched her in the left side of her head. According to Officer M.B., her Sergeant pulled her back to check on her, Officer M.B. told the Sergeant she had been punched by the woman, and the Sergeant told her to return to the line. Officer M.B. stated that the blonde woman came at her again, and Officer M.B. struck the woman in response.

Just five days after the Y'all Queda attack, a tipster from Massachusetts contacted the FBI, the affidavit states:

Tipster-1 stated they were aware prior to the events of January 6, 2021 that STARER planned to attend a march on the Capitol. According to Tipster-1, prior to January 6, 2021, STARER bragged to a mutual acquaintance that she "was prepared" for it, with a mesh knife-proof shirt and bottles of pepper spray.

Starer was arrested in December, 2022. She's been free on personal recognizance under conditions that include periodic drug testing.

Innocent, etc.