30 Facts About Wesley Bell

Wesley Jonell-Cleavon Bell was born on November 5,1974 and is an American attorney and politician serving as the US representative for since 2025.

On June 7,2023, Bell announced his candidacy in the 2024 United States Senate election in Missouri.

Wesley Bell is the son of a police officer father and civil servant mother.

Wesley Bell is a graduate of Hazelwood East High School, Lindenwood University, and University of Missouri School of Law.

Wesley Bell later joined the faculty of Florissant Valley Community College as a professor in the criminology department.

In 2006, Bell managed the campaign of Mark J Byrne, a Republican candidate challenging Lacy Clay's seat in Missouri's 1st congressional district.

In 2015, following the Ferguson Protests, Wesley Bell was elected to Ferguson city council, beating out Lee Smith, a first time candidate popular among Ferguson protestors.

Wesley Bell received significant support from local and national activists and advocacy groups.

Wesley Bell's office stopped seeking warrants on cases that solely involve the possession of marijuana.

Additionally, during his first days in office Wesley Bell elected to stop prosecuting criminal child support cases.

Wesley Bell was confronted in 2020 with a case from 2018, in which a resident of Jefferson County, Missouri, killed a woman.

Former St Louis police chief Tim Fitch urged Wesley Bell to turn the case over to federal prosecutors so that they could seek the death penalty.

Wesley Bell reopened the investigation into the killing of Michael Brown in early 2020, and decided not to file any charges against the white officer.

Wesley Bell ultimately concluded, like his predecessor Bob McCulloch and the United States Department of Justice, that there was not probable cause to criminally charge Darren Wilson.

The decision was met with anger from Michael Brown's family who accused Wesley Bell of conducting an incomplete investigation.

Wesley Bell told a crime commission meeting that they were still working on backlog from COVID-19 and that judges were tired of seeing the same people come into courts.

In late 2024, Wesley Bell accused a county councilman of nepotism due to his step-daughter's temporary position as clerk.

Documentation was provided to show that she had not received payment, however Wesley Bell further accused her of falsifying documents in a felony charge of forgery.

The lawsuit further alleged that Wesley Bell had created a hostile work environment for female attorneys at the office.

Wesley Bell responded by claiming that the prosecutor's attorney was irresponsibly and unethically attempting to litigate her case in the media.

Wesley Bell was criticized for his use of government resources while in office.

In June 2019, KSDK, a local news outlet, reported that Wesley Bell had amassed nearly $800 in parking tickets though he was provided with a parking space.

Wesley Bell later paid off the parking tickets using his own money.

The investigation uncovered that Wesley Bell had spent over $30,000 in government funds on travel and food during his first ten months in office.

Wesley Bell did not comment on the Ozarks meal directly, but informed the Post-Dispatch that, while he needed to get in the good graces of local law enforcement to perform his duties as prosecutor, Wesley Bell recognizes that the meal wasn't a common expense during the previous prosecutor's long tenure.

However, Wesley Bell noted that he had to simultaneously work with the police and hold them to a higher standard, justifying the expense.

Under pressure from his supporters, Wesley Bell ultimately apologized citing the actions as "missteps" and vowed to spend taxpayer money more appropriately in the future.

In 2023, Wesley Bell announced a challenge to Josh Hawley for the US Senate, in which he polled higher than fellow Democratic candidate Lucas Kunce.

Wesley Bell received additional support and campaign financing from conservatives and Republicans.

Wesley Bell defeated Bush in the primary and ultimately won the general election.