Hearing set in Capitol riot

Mar. 20—TRIAD — A Thomasville woman facing charges in the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol won't find out until at least the middle of next week whether she will be allowed to get out of federal detention while awaiting trial.

The arguments that Laura Lee Steele's attorney presented in a document filed Thursday largely echo ones that were rejected less than a month ago by a U.S. District Court magistrate judge in Durham, and they do not address one of the magistrate judge's objections to her release: that members of her family who live at her home may be witnesses against her.

A hearing is set for Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to determine whether Steele, 52, has to remain in federal custody. She has been behind bars since her arrest Feb. 17.

Steele and nine other people named in a single, multicount indictment are among more than 300 people who have been charged so far in the Jan. 6 event, which began as a rally and march from the White House to the Capitol that quickly devolved into a riot and assault on the Capitol that left five people dead, including one police officer, and more than 100 police officers injured. Prosecutors say the riot caused millions of dollars in damage to the Capitol.

Although the indictment alleges that all 10 people are members of a paramilitary group called the Oath Keepers, which it says planned all along to storm the Capitol, Steele's attorney, Peter Cooper, argued in his Thursday filing that there has been no evidence presented and nothing in the indictment indicating that Steele played an active part.

"In all, the government's allegations (against Steele) rise to no more than mere presence, in stark contrast to the other defendants, whose supposed involvements range from creation of the conspiracy, managing the conspiracy, actively participating in the running of the conspiracy, etc.," Cooper wrote. "The Court is presented with an individual who appears on the government's filing occupying a peripheral position."

Cooper argued that releasing Steele poses virtually no danger to the community.

"Ms. Steele's ties to her community and her personal background undermine any argument that she is a continued danger to anyone in any community. In fact, Ms Steele has possibly the most extensive ties to a community experienced by counsel in some time," he wrote.

He quoted court precedents saying that "only when there is a 'strong probability that a person will commit additional crimes if released' is the community interest in safety sufficiently compelling to overcome the criminal defendant's right to liberty."

Cooper cited as a positive factor that Steele at home would be surrounded by her husband of 26 years, Kenneth Steele, a retired High Point Police Department assistant chief, and two adult sons, one who is a police officer and the other who is soon to become one.

But Cooper did not address an issue raised by Magistrate Judge Joe Webster last month, that all of Steele's family members knew about Steele's activities leading up to and following Jan. 6, including that after she returned from Washington Steele deleted Facebook posts about her political views. Potentially, all could be called as witnesses.

Prosecutors in Steele's case also are asking the judge to allow extra time for them to provide evidence to Cooper and for the case to move to trial.

"The investigation and prosecution of the Capitol Attack will likely be one of the largest in American history, both in terms of the number of defendants prosecuted and the nature and volume of the evidence," the document said.

Evidence accumulated so far includes more than 15,000 hours of surveillance and body-worn camera footage, data from approximately 1,600 electronic devices, more than 210,000 tips, and more than 80,000 reports and 93,000 attachments related to law enforcement interviews of suspects and witnesses and other investigative steps, prosecutors wrote.

Cooper has objected to that request, arguing that the government's resources are vast, the charges involving Steele are limited and straightforward, COVID-19 precautions already are likely to delay the case, and the wait for getting the charges resolved places a severe psychological burden on Steele.