A Maryland man has been arrested and charged after apparently live-streaming himself discreetly touching a woman’s hair on a Metro train in Arlington.
Bryan Betancur, 28, was taken into custody yesterday (Monday) following an incident that took place around 10:09 p.m. on Sunday on a Silver Line train servicing the Clarendon Metro station, Metro Transit Police said.
The suspect, who previously pleaded guilty to charges related to the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, faces one count of misdemeanor assault and battery.
Other live-streamed footage that has circulated on social media suggests he may also have illicitly touched at least one other woman’s hair prior to his arrest.
UPDATE:
Late last night, our officers located and arrested 28-year-old Bryan Betancur. Anyone with information about this individual is still encouraged to contact MTPD. https://t.co/fLryozcR5S pic.twitter.com/I6A2GeYyNp
— Metro Transit Police (@MetroTransitPD) March 3, 2026
During one livestream posted from his X account on Sunday night, Betancur can be seen boarding the train at the Virginia Square station before sitting down directly behind a woman.
After approximately two minutes, Betancur appears to reach out and briefly stroke the victim’s hair shortly before the train pulls into the Courthouse station.
No part of the livestream shows Betancur asking for consent from the victim, who does not appear to react to the touching. Betancur remains on the train for another three and a half minutes, crossing into D.C. before he ends the livestream.
Betancur, who was detained in Maryland, faces one count of misdemeanor assault and battery in connection to the Sunday incident. He awaits extradition to Virginia, with a future court date in Arlington not yet scheduled, according to online court records.
Police arrested him mere hours after a local judge signed off on a warrant for his arrest.
The suspect appears to livestream regularly on his X account. Some social media users have also accused him of being a “serial fare evader” based on his publicly-available footage, though no police action has been taken over that allegation.
Betancur was sentenced to four months for his role in the Capitol riot before benefiting from a blanket pardon issued by President Donald Trump last year.
According to a federal affidavit, he “is a self-professed white supremacist who has made statements to law enforcement officers that he is a member of several white supremacy organizations” and “made increased verbalizations about his desire to be a ‘lone wolf killer'” while he “continued to engage racially motivated violent extremist groups on the internet.”
