Federal Prosecutors have appealed an order signed by a U.S. Magistrate on Tuesday that Rachel Powell be released with an ankle monitor upon posting a $10,000 bond.
KDKA CBS PIttsburgh
U.S. District judge Lisa Lenihan said she was shocked and appalled by Powell’s alleged actions, calling them crimes against democracy that put elected officials’ lives at risk. But saying her guilt or innocence is for another judge on another day, Lenihan decided to release Powell to be with her children.
The government is appealing the release with a decision due Wednesday, arguing Powell’s alleged actions make her a violent threat to the community, displaying pictures of confiscated ammunition and revealing she owns an AK47 assault-type rifle and a Glock semi-automatic handgun.
The government also argued Powell is a flight risk. An FBI agent testified she had been at large, leaving her young children unattended at home when she was at the Capitol and then handing them over to her estranged husband on Jan. 30 without word of where she was going. She did not resurface until her arrest in New Castle last week.
Pittsburgh Post Gazette
During a search of Ms. Powell's house and car, agents said they found several smashed cell phones and what the FBI called "go bags," including one containing loaded magazines for an assault rifle and another that contained Ninja throwing stars and knives.
Ms. Aloi said the "nature of the circumstances of the case are uniquely disturbing" in that Ms. Powell directly encouraged violence and destruction at the Capitol. In addition, she said, the evidence is overwhelming and includes video of Ms. Powell's actions.
Ms. Aloi also said Ms. Powell is a "highly visible figure from the insurrection" and faces substantial prison time if convicted "which incentivizes flight and evading law enforcement — a thought that the defendant already appears to have contemplated by virtue of her leaving her children a second time on January 30, 2021."
Ms. Aloi pointed out that instead of turning herself in, Ms. Powell gave an interview to The New Yorker.