Public Radio for the Piedmont and High Country
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Thomasville Oath Keeper not among those charged with seditious conspiracy

Federal investigators say this image shows Laura Steele and others moving in a military "stack" formation during the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. Image from federal court documents related to Steele's arrest.

Eleven people who the U.S. Justice Department says are part of the Oath Keepers militia group face charges of seditious conspiracy in connection with the January 6 insurrection. 

The charges mark a serious escalation of the government's case against Pro-Trump rioters accused of trying to block the certification of President Joe Biden's 2020 election victory. 

One of the purported Oath Keepers originally charged is Laura Steele of Thomasville. Investigators say she was part of a military-style “stack” formation that moved through the crowd and up the Capitol steps.

Steele was not among those additionally charged with seditious conspiracy. But one of the members of that stack, Kelly Meggs of Florida, is facing that higher charge, according to the Department of Justice.

Steele is still accused of attempting to obstruct an official proceeding.

Steele cited 13 years of law enforcement experience in North Carolina on her Oath Keeper application, adding she had served as a K-9 officer and on the SWAT team. 

High Point police say she worked for the department from 1992 to 2004. She was terminated for conduct toward superior personnel, absence from duty, and violation of communications policy.

Sedition charges are difficult to win and rarely used, but defendants face steep prison time of 20 years if convicted. 

The allegations represent only the government's side of the case.

 

 

Paul Garber is a Winston-Salem native and an award-winning reporter who began his journalism career with an internship at The High Point Enterprise in 1993. He has previously worked at The Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The News and Record of Greensboro and the Winston-Salem Journal, where he was the newspaper's first full-time multimedia reporter. He won the statewide Media and the Law award in 2000 and has also been recognized for his business, investigative and multimedia reporting. Paul earned a BA from Wake Forest University and has a Master's of Liberal Arts degree from Johns Hopkins University and a Master's of Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He lives in Lewisville.

Support quality journalism, like the story above,
with your gift right now.

Donate