A political cartoonist who developed an online following among anti-Trump readers of the Washington Post has been arrested on charges that he possessed child sexual assault material.
Darrin Bell, who has been celebrated in left-wing media for unflattering caricatures of Trump voters, Republicans, and parent rights advocates, was taken into custody Wednesday morning by Sacramento County Sheriffs Deputies, according to multiple media outlets.
The Sheriff’s Office has said Bell’s arrest was the first by the task force connected to AI-generated material. Such material was incorporated into existing child pornography law on Jan. 1.
Bell’s arrest drew widespread attention from Trump supporters on social media, who noted the irony of his charges versus his criticism of conservatives.
The cartoonist had previously compared Trump voters to Nazis for expressing concerns over child predators, among other unflattering portrayals of the president-elects supporters.
Bell, 49, won the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 2019.
He’s being held on $1 million bail pending a Jan. 17 hearing.




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