Daughter of Representative Katherine Clark arrested during Boston Common protest

A Boston police officer was allegedly hit in the face and bloodied Saturday night while arresting a woman later identified as the daughter of US Representative Katherine Clark during a protest on Boston Common, according to police and Clark’s office.

Riley Dowell, 23, is accused of defacing the Parkman Bandstand Monument with spray paint before she was arrested, officials said. Dowell was assigned male at birth and was identified by Boston police using her birth name, according to Clark’s office.

Clark confirmed Sunday that her daughter had been arrested in Boston.

“I love Riley, and this is a very difficult time in the cycle of joy and pain in parenting,” Clark, the House Democratic Whip, said in a statement. “This will be evaluated by the legal system, and I am confident in that process.”

Last night, my daughter was arrested in Boston, Massachusetts. I love Riley, and this is a very difficult time in the cycle of joy and pain in parenting.

This will be evaluated by the legal system, and I am confident in that process.

— Katherine Clark (@RepKClark) January 22, 2023

Officers were called to the Parkman Bandstand about 9:30 p.m. for a report of a protest and allegedly saw a person, later identified as Dowell, spray painting the monument with the tags “NO COP CITY,” and “ACAB,” the department said in a statement.

As Dowell was being placed under arrest, police said about 20 protesters surrounded officers and screamed profanities through megaphones, bringing nearby traffic to a standstill. Amid the chaos, one officer was “hit in the face and could be seen bleeding from the nose and mouth,” the statement said.

Dowell was charged with assault by means of a dangerous weapon, destruction or injury of personal property, and damage of property by graffiti/tagging, the statement said.

Police said they later arrested a second person at the bandstand about 10:30 p.m. who was identified as Andrea Colletti, 27, of Brighton. Colletti allegedly tried to flee police on foot and briefly struggled with officers who apprehended her. She was charged with damage of property by graffiti/tagging, destruction or injury of personal property, and resisting arrest, the statement said.

Dowell and Colletti will be arraigned in Boston Municipal Court, police said. It was unclear Sunday night whether either had retained an attorney.