Massachusetts doctor may have thrown away her career for Trump

# 726 Jacquelyn Starer whaling away at a DC Metro Police officer Jacquelyn Starer whaling away at a DC Metro Police officer A week after the Jan. 6 insurrection, The Atlantic noted that there were quite a few “respectable people” in the horde that descended on the Capitol— business(wo)men, real estate agents, and police officers. In other words, quite a few people threw good careers away in the name of The Messiah, Lord Donald Trump, The Most Merciful. Well, the bill came due for another “respectable” member of that mob on Tuesday. A doctor from the Boston suburbs was arrested on a litany of charges—including, most seriously, assaulting a Metro Police officer. She’s already lost her job, and stands to lose a lot more. Top Stories George Santos admits to some major lies, but a $700,000 mystery remains CLICK TO READ In rural California, farmworkers fend for themselves for health careUkraine update: If NATO wants to send Ukraine a modern tank, this is a good choiceRight-wing hypocrisy is never hypocrisy. It's a coherent belief systemUkraine update: Revisiting the Day One war updateI will not wave the white flag for Elon Musk George Santos admits tosome major lies, but a $700,000 mystery remains RELATED STORY: 'I plead the Fifth': Some of the findings in the first wave of Jan. 6 committee transcripts Jacquelyn Starer, a 68-year-old addiction recovery specialist from Ashland, west of Boston, was arrested on Tuesday on charges of assaulting a federal officer, civil disorder, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building, engaging in disorderly conduct on the Capitol grounds, engaging in physical violence on the Capitol grounds, and parading in the Capitol. According to an affidavit by Jennifer Morin, an FBI agent based in Worcester, the most serious charge comes from bodycam footage showing Starer punching a female Metro Police officer on the side of the head on the west side of the Rotunda. Watch footage from WBZ-TV here. Starer is easily spotted with her red jacket and red “TRUMP 45” toboggan. According to the affidavit, someone dropped a dime on Starer five days after the insurrection. According to a tipster, Starer bragged to a friend that she was going to the Capitol and was “prepared” for things to get heavy—to the point of wearing “a mesh knife-proof jacket” and carrying several bottles of pepper spray. Earlier this year, one of Starer’s former co-workers identified Starer from several photos sampled from bodycam footage and open-source video of the insurrection. Yes, that’s right—a former co-worker. According to both WBZ-TV and WCVB-TV, Starer was a per diem doctor at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital in Jamaica Plain in Boston, but she is no longer employed there. Starer was arrested on Tuesday morning and made her first appearance later that day. Watch footage of that appearance from WCVB here. WCVB interviewed a number of Starer’s neighbors. Understandably, they were stunned that she would sink to such a low level. In marked contrast to her demeanor on Jan. 6, she wasn’t willing to talk at all to reporters. The obvious question—why did it take almost two years to arrest Starer? Well, considering Starer’s profession, on paper she has the wherewithal to stretch things out. One would hope that another reason would be that she finally had the good sense to turn herself in and plead guilty. After all, according to NBC Boston, she faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted on all charges. Plus, even one felony conviction would spell the end of her medical career; most states will not grant a medical license to a convicted felon. Starer is apparently pretty well respected in the New England medical community; according to NBC Boston, she was once president of the Massachusetts Society of Addiction Medicine. Perhaps now she’s starting to realize she threw all of that away for the sake of Trump. RELATED STORY: Jan. 6 committee: Report summary leaves open questions about security, intelligence failures MERCHANDISE Shirts GET OUT THE VOTE Ways to get involved in the 2022 Election Daily Kos moves in solidarity with the Black community. LEARN MORE