A Trump-bashing, Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist — whose illustrations have been printed by the Washington Put up, New Yorker and Los Angeles Occasions — was arrested for possession of kid pornography.
Darrin Bell, the primary African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartoons, was busted Wednesday and booked in California’s Sacramento County after detectives from the Web Crimes Towards Youngsters unit had been tipped off by the Nationwide Heart for Lacking and Exploited Youngsters, legislation enforcement officers stated.
In a search of Bell’s dwelling, detectives discovered 134 movies of kid pornography linked to an account owned and managed by the 49-year-old married father of 4 in addition to computer-generated synthetic intelligence youngster pornography, authorities stated Thursday.
One troubling cartoon that Bell created was posted to his X account in 2022 and resurfaced on the social media platform after his arrest. Titled “The Groomer,” it exhibits an elephant-like particular person flashing a bunch of youngsters in entrance of a mirrored storefront, which mirror the phrase “BIGOTRY” tattooed on the topic’s chest.
Bell’s extra well-known illustrations have touched on politics, tradition and race, and have been syndicated to main shops across the nation.
The Pulitzer Prize committee hailed Bell for “beautiful and daring editorial cartoons that took on issues affecting disenfranchised communities, calling out lies, hypocrisy and fraud in the political turmoil surrounding the Trump administration” in honoring him with the venerable award in 2019.
His work has been distributed by way of King Options Syndicate, which handles well-known cartoon strips similar to “Popeye,” “Dennis the Menace” and “Beetle Bailey.”
Bell can be the creator of a strip referred to as “Candorville,” which launched in 2003 and was and was beforehand syndicated via the Washington Put up Writers Group till a few years in the past.
The Washington Put up has no relationship with Bell, a supply near the scenario instructed The Put up on Thursday.
King Options declined remark.
The Northern California resident is in custody and being held on $1 million bail, in response to the Sacramento Valley sheriff.
He is because of seem in court docket on Friday.
