Pittsburgh – Federal prosecutors on Wednesday called for the release of a Pennsylvania woman accused of using a large pipe to break a window in the United States Capitol in January. 6. and instruct fellow insurgents on how to take the building.
A magistrate found that Rachel Marie Powell – who the FBI says is the woman in a pink hat shown in a video shouting instructions through a megaphone – posed a “danger to the community,” but that she could be released on $ 10,000 unsecured bail with house arrest and electronic monitoring.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisa Pupo Lenihan handed down the sentence after Powell’s arrest hearing on Tuesday, but delayed his release to give the government time to appeal.
Prosecutors said Powell should do it remain closed before the trial.
Powell, an eight-year-old mother of eight from Sandy Lake, is a “major participant in the most violent uprising in occur at the U.S. Capitol in more than 200 years “and” fueled a situation that threatened the peaceful transfer of power to the United States, “federal prosecutors wrote Wednesday.
Powell’s attorney, Michael Engle, argued in court that Powell has no criminal record, poses no risk of theft and did not physically harm anyone during the insurgency.
An FBI affidavit said Powell was with a group inside the Capitol and provided detailed instructions on the layout of the building, telling riot police that “they should” coordinate together if you want to take that building. ” ” Powell also noted that “they have another window to break,” the affidavit said.
“She was not a spectator; she perpetrated violence and encouraged others to do the same, all aimed at overthrowing law enforcement, intimidating public officials and undermining the Constitution and the peaceful transfer of presidential power,” they said on Wednesday. fiscal.
Authorities said a search of Powell’s home caused several shattered cell phones and two “bags,” one with ammunition, rope and duct tape and the other with throwing stars, knives and lighters. A bag found in Powell’s car had a tarp, zippered straps and two magazines loaded for an AK-47 rifle, authorities said.
Powell has been charged with violent entry or disorderly conduct, obstruction, looting of government property, entry into a restricted building and being in that building with a dangerous weapon.