Trump-hating WaPo Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, who mocked Republicans as 'groomers,' arrested on child porn charges
A long-time Washington Post cartoonist has been arrested in California on child pornography charges, according to authorities. According to Sacramento Sheriff's Office records, 49-year-old Darrin Bell was arrested on Wednesday at his south Sacramento home. Bell is being held at the Sacramento County Jail on $1 million bail. 'Donald Trump, like his friend Jeffrey Epstein, is a predator who grooms his victims.'The Sacramento Bee reported that Bell was charged with suspicion of possession and creating child pornography. The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that law enforcement was tipped off to possible child sex crimes by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.The sheriff's office said an individual had uploaded 18 files of child sex abuse material. Police said the child porn files led them to an account "owned and controlled" by Bell. Investigators said they discovered a total of 134 child pornography videos on Bell's account. Detectives executed a search at Bell's home, where they recovered the illicit files but also AI-generated child porn. Officials noted that this was the first arrest by the Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Task Force/Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force involving the possession of a computer-generated/AI CSAM. The law to charge individuals with AI-generated child porn went into effect on Jan. 1, 2025. According to a LinkedIn profile, Bell was a member of the Washington Post Writers Group for nearly 20 years until March 2023. The profile shows that Bell is currently a cartoonist at King Features Syndicate — a unit of the Hearst Corporation.Bell was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 2019. The Washington Post featured a profile of Bell in June 2023, which highlighted him having "the talk" with his three young children about racism and police violence against black people. Bell regularly attacked Donald Trump in his cartoons, including an image depicting the president-elect attempting to grope the Statue of Liberty and several that compared him to Adolf Hitler.When Trump was re-elected, Bell wrote: "Convicted felon, rapist, con-man and white supremacist Donald Trump decisively defeats Kamala Harris to become the 47th president of the United States. And this time he won the popular vote. The voters in the USA chose this Neo-Confederate president with their eyes open."Bell said of Trump in February 2024, "He’s a racist, treasonous, autocrat-admiring career criminal and rapist. Being desperate to stop him from getting back into the White House is the normal reaction that every decent person should have."In October 2020, Bell wrote on the X social media platform: "Donald Trump, like his friend Jeffrey Epstein, is a predator who grooms his victims. He’s grooming his supporters to refuse to accept any election outcome other than a Trump victory. And he’s grooming the rest of us to tolerate whatever he & red states may do to flip results."In a cartoon titled "The Groomer," Bell drew the GOP's elephant and had the Republican symbol cornering young children and exposing itself to the kids.In one of his cartoons, Bell compared rabid Trump supporters using the term "groomer" to Nazis. Grooming is when a sexual predator builds a relationship with typically a child, but it can be an adult, to abuse and exploit them by manipulating them to reduce the risk of them being caught.Another one of Bell's cartoons spotlights the sexual assault accusations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.In 2011, Bell wrote on the X social media platform: "To a child, 'rape' & 'rapist' are merely words. If you explain it calmly it's simply a lesson. A valuable one."Bell is also known for his comic strip “Candorville,” which features three childhood friends.Bell is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 17. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
A long-time Washington Post cartoonist has been arrested in California on child pornography charges, according to authorities.
According to Sacramento Sheriff's Office records, 49-year-old Darrin Bell was arrested on Wednesday at his south Sacramento home. Bell is being held at the Sacramento County Jail on $1 million bail.
'Donald Trump, like his friend Jeffrey Epstein, is a predator who grooms his victims.'
The Sacramento Bee reported that Bell was charged with suspicion of possession and creating child pornography.
The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that law enforcement was tipped off to possible child sex crimes by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The sheriff's office said an individual had uploaded 18 files of child sex abuse material.
Police said the child porn files led them to an account "owned and controlled" by Bell. Investigators said they discovered a total of 134 child pornography videos on Bell's account.
Detectives executed a search at Bell's home, where they recovered the illicit files but also AI-generated child porn.
Officials noted that this was the first arrest by the Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Task Force/Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force involving the possession of a computer-generated/AI CSAM. The law to charge individuals with AI-generated child porn went into effect on Jan. 1, 2025.
According to a LinkedIn profile, Bell was a member of the Washington Post Writers Group for nearly 20 years until March 2023. The profile shows that Bell is currently a cartoonist at King Features Syndicate — a unit of the Hearst Corporation.
Bell was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 2019.
The Washington Post featured a profile of Bell in June 2023, which highlighted him having "the talk" with his three young children about racism and police violence against black people.
Bell regularly attacked Donald Trump in his cartoons, including an image depicting the president-elect attempting to grope the Statue of Liberty and several that compared him to Adolf Hitler.
When Trump was re-elected, Bell wrote: "Convicted felon, rapist, con-man and white supremacist Donald Trump decisively defeats Kamala Harris to become the 47th president of the United States. And this time he won the popular vote. The voters in the USA chose this Neo-Confederate president with their eyes open."
Bell said of Trump in February 2024, "He’s a racist, treasonous, autocrat-admiring career criminal and rapist. Being desperate to stop him from getting back into the White House is the normal reaction that every decent person should have."
In October 2020, Bell wrote on the X social media platform: "Donald Trump, like his friend Jeffrey Epstein, is a predator who grooms his victims. He’s grooming his supporters to refuse to accept any election outcome other than a Trump victory. And he’s grooming the rest of us to tolerate whatever he & red states may do to flip results."
In a cartoon titled "The Groomer," Bell drew the GOP's elephant and had the Republican symbol cornering young children and exposing itself to the kids.
In one of his cartoons, Bell compared rabid Trump supporters using the term "groomer" to Nazis.
Grooming is when a sexual predator builds a relationship with typically a child, but it can be an adult, to abuse and exploit them by manipulating them to reduce the risk of them being caught.
Another one of Bell's cartoons spotlights the sexual assault accusations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
In 2011, Bell wrote on the X social media platform: "To a child, 'rape' & 'rapist' are merely words. If you explain it calmly it's simply a lesson. A valuable one."
Bell is also known for his comic strip “Candorville,” which features three childhood friends.
Bell is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 17.
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Originally Published at Daily Wire, World Net Daily, or The Blaze
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