Wesley Bell facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wesley Bell
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri's 1st district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2025
Preceded by	Cori Bush
Prosecuting Attorney of St. Louis County
In office January 1, 2019 – January 3, 2025
Preceded by	Bob McCulloch
Succeeded by	Melissa Price Smith
Personal details
Born	Wesley Jonell-Cleavon Bell (1974-11-05) November 5, 1974 (age 50) St. Louis County, Missouri, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Education	Lindenwood University (BA) University of Missouri (JD)

Wesley Jonell-Cleavon Bell (born November 5, 1974) is an American lawyer and politician. He serves as the U.S. Representative for Missouri's 1st congressional district since 2025. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Before this, he was the prosecuting attorney for St. Louis County, Missouri, from 2019 to 2025.

In 2018, he won a big election against the long-time county prosecutor, Bob McCulloch. When he took office in January 2019, he became the first Black county prosecuting attorney in St. Louis County history. In 2023, Bell first announced he would run for the U.S. Senate. Later, he decided to run for the U.S. House seat for Missouri's 1st congressional district. He won the Democratic primary in August 2024 and the general election in November.

Early Life and Learning

Wesley Bell grew up in northern St. Louis County, Missouri. His father was a police officer, and his mother worked for the government. Bell went to Hazelwood East High School. He then studied at Lindenwood University and the University of Missouri School of Law.

Starting His Career

Bell in 2014

After finishing law school, Bell worked as a public defender in St. Louis County. A public defender is a lawyer who helps people who cannot afford one. Later, he became a professor at Florissant Valley Community College. He taught about how the justice system works. He also served as a judge in Velda City and a prosecutor in Riverview.

Joining the Ferguson City Council

In 2015, after the Ferguson Protests, Bell was elected to the Ferguson city council. This was an important step in his public service career.

Running for County Prosecutor

In 2018, Bell decided to run for county prosecutor. He promised to make changes to the justice system. His ideas included:

• Working more closely with communities.
• Having special lawyers look into cases where police were involved in deaths.
• Never asking for the death penalty.
• Changing the cash bail system.

He received a lot of support from groups and people who wanted these changes. The election was also seen as a vote on the current prosecutor, Bob McCulloch. Many people were upset about his decision not to charge the police officer in the Michael Brown case.

As County Prosecutor

As prosecuting attorney, Wesley Bell made several important decisions. He stopped prosecuting criminal child support cases early in his term.

In 2020, Bell faced a difficult case where a man had killed a woman. Many people wanted him to seek the death penalty. However, Bell kept his promise from his campaign and refused to seek it. The victim's family supported his decision.

Bell also reopened the investigation into the killing of Michael Brown in 2020. After reviewing the evidence, he decided not to file charges against the officer. He reached the same conclusion as his predecessor and the United States Department of Justice. Bell stated his team used evidence from the Department of Justice's thorough investigation.

In 2024, Bell asked to overturn a murder conviction for Marcellus Williams. This was because there was "clear and convincing evidence" that Williams might be innocent.

Using Government Resources

Bell faced some questions about how he used government money while in office. In 2019, a local news station reported that he had many parking tickets. His staff explained that he and other lawyers needed their cars close to the office. This was so they could quickly respond to urgent calls. Bell later paid for these tickets himself.

In October 2019, a newspaper looked into Bell's spending. It found that he had spent money on travel and food. Bell said he repaid some of the expenses immediately. He also promised to be more careful with taxpayer money in the future.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2024 Election

In 2023, Bell first announced he would run for the U.S. Senate. Later that year, he decided to run for the 1st congressional district seat in the U.S. House. This meant he would challenge the current representative, Cori Bush.

Bell received support and campaign money from various groups. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper, which had been critical of Bell before, supported him in this election.

Wesley Bell won against Cori Bush in the primary election. He then went on to win the general election in November.

Electoral history

2024