Feds ask judge to revise indictment against Mercer mom charged in Capitol riot
New information has prompted prosecutors to ask a federal judge to revise the wording of three of the eight charges filed against a Mercer County woman awaiting a November 15 trial for her alleged part in the January 6 Capital riot.
Counts three, four, and five outlined in the eight-count indictment of Rachel Powell makes reference to both the Vice-President and Vice-President Elect.
A motion filed in District Court by the U.S. Attorney notes that although Vice-President Mike Pence was inside the Capitol building during the disturbance, Vice-President Elect Kamala Harris had already left the Capitol before the insurgency.
Prosecutors are asking that the term "Vice President-Elect" be stricken from the indictment.
Government attorneys say in the motion that while deleting reference to the Vice President-elect “simply ‘narrows’" the scope of the charges, Powell is still accused of carrying an ice axe and a "large" wooden pole into the Capitol while Vice President Pence was in the building to take part in the process of certifying the results of the previous November's election.
Powell, the so-called "pink hat lady" and "bullhorn lady" was charged after authorities say video showed her in the crowd of people storming the Capitol in support of Donald Trump's false claims of election fraud.
An affidavit says Powell was seen using the bullhorn to give instructions about the layout of the Capitol building and instructing others on how to "take this building."
The Sandy Lake mother of eight faces trial on charges including obstruction, destruction of US property over $1,000, entering a restricted building or property with a dangerous weapon, entering a restricted building/property, and disorderly conduct.
More than 800 people have been charged in connection with the effort to stop congress from certifying Joseph Biden as the winner in the race for US President in 2020. Seven of those people are from the Valley.