Restaurant owner Pauline Bauer tries to shrug off the scorn from strangers/ Photo / AP
Restaurant owner Pauline Bauer tries to shrug off the scorn from strangers/ Photo / AP
A crank caller ordered an "insurrection pizza" from Pauline Bauer's restaurant. A profane piece of hate mail addressed her as a domestic terrorist. She even became a punchline for Stephen Colbert's late-night talk show on CBS.
A swift backlash greeted Capitol riot suspects like Bauer when they returned to their homes across the US after joining the mob that stormed past police barricades, smashed windows and disrupted the certification of Joe Biden's US presidential victory on January 6.
Relatives, friends or co-workers reported scores of them to the FBI. Some lost jobs. Others lost their freedom, jailed awaiting trials.
In Bauer's hometown in rural Pennsylvania, her arrest and that of a longtime friend have rekindled partisan bickering, more often on social media than on street corners, some residents say.
Pauline Bauer is one of more than 540 people charged with US federal crimes. Photo / AP
As Bauer and William Blauser Jr fight the charges in court, many in the town of Kane (population 3,507) have struggled to comprehend how two of their neighbours could be among the hundreds of Trump loyalists bent on overturning the election that day.
"I think it was totally outrageous, it was illegal and I think it was treasonous," said Joe Lanich, who operates a letterpress print shop with his wife called The Laughing Owl Press Co in Kane's uptown business district.
He said the town is populated by proud residents who work hard to improve Kane and "don't want to see one person paint us in a bad light".
Bauer tries to shrug off the scorn from strangers, but acknowledges her actions have angered some in her community.
William Blauser Jr and friend Pauline Bauer were arrested in May. Photo / AP
"Some people didn't like the fact that I became political," she said during a break in dinner service at her restaurant, Bob's Trading Post.
In the months since January 6, former US president Donald Trump and his supporters have sought to portray the rioters as peaceful patriots, even as videos from that day show members of the mob beating police officers and hunting for lawmakers in an unthinkable attack on the seat of American democracy.
The town of Kane in rural northwestern Pennsylvania has a small population of 3,507 people. Photo / AP
Yesterday officers who defended the Capitol that day described to a congressional committee investigating the insurrection how they feared for their lives and continue to suffer physical and emotional pain.
Bauer was heard shouting at police to "bring Nancy Pelosi out" to be hanged during the riot, the FBI says.
Five people died in the attack or its aftermath, and dozens of law enforcement officers were injured. More than 500 people have been charged with federal crimes.
Rioters loyal to former US president Donald Trump outside the US Capitol on January 6 in Washington DC. Photo / AP
Even so, some in Kane have stood by Bauer, who insists her actions haven't cost her any friendships or harmed her business.
On a recent Wednesday evening, tables at her restaurant were filled by her regular customers.
