Source: Robert Nickelsberg / Getty
Federal investigators are learning more about the connection with North Carolina to the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
According to court documents, The Tar Heel served as a training base for some militia members involved with the act of domestic terrorism. A superseding indictment against several alleged members of the militia group Oath Keepers shows at least one man “attended a training camp in North Carolina.”
Although, no specific location of the camp was listed in the court filings.
One of those named in the indictment is a former High Point Police officer Laura Steele. The 52-year-old is said to have been aligned with the Oath Keepers and their plans to breach the Capitol last month. She cited her law enforcement training on her application to join the paramilitary group, according to documents present in the indictment against her last week.
On the morning of Jan. 6, Steele and the other members of her group “prepared themselves for battle before heading to the Capitol by equipping themselves with communication devices and donning reinforced vests, helmets, and goggles,” according to the indictment.
She was charged with one count of conspiring to commit an offense against the United States, to corruptly obstruct, influence, or impede an official proceeding, one count of depredation against federal government property, and unlawful entry, disorderly conduct, or violent conduct in restricted buildings or grounds.
The case is being prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Counterterrorism Section of the DOJ’s National Security Division with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Middle District of Florida, the Middle District of North Carolina, and the Southern District of Ohio. The superseding indictment is the result of an ongoing investigation by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Jacksonville Field Office, Tampa Field Office, Charlotte Field Office, and Cincinnati Field Office.
Steele and four others from North Carolina including a couple from Pilot Mountain have been charged in the violent attack in Washington D.C. that left five people dead.
