The Justice Department has detailed the investigators’ findings in a new request to keep the woman, Rachel Powell, in prison before her trial. A federal magistrate judge in Pennsylvania previously decided to release her shortly after her arrest, but federal prosecutors have appealed against that decision to the Federal District Court of the District of Columbia where Powell is being prosecuted, saying they are both a “ danger to the community ‘is. and a flight risk. “
Powell, of Sandy Lake, Pennsylvania, has been charged with obstruction, confiscation of government property, entering a restricted building or property with a dangerous weapon, entering a restricted building or property, and violent entry or disorderly conduct. She admitted to being present at the riot in an interview with the New Yorker and used a megaphone to dispatch rioters attempting to reenter the Capitol.
When officers searched Powell’s home, prosecutors write that in addition to “firearms accessories,” they also found “several destroyed cell phones.” They also discovered what prosecutors said: “Law enforcement described as ‘go bags’ because they appeared to be prepackaged for an upcoming departure.”
Prosecutors submitted photos to the court, obtained by CNN-affiliated WTAE, showing what agents found near the house. The photos show what prosecutors say they found in the ‘go bags’, including throwing knives and survival equipment such as tape, lighters and sails.
Investigators also say they have found what appears to be shooting targets with messages written on them: “Guns don’t kill people. I do.”; “Better shot than my ex.”; “Prayer is a good way to meet the Lord, but transgression is faster!”
On February 4, CNN and other outlets reported that the FBI had searched her home but was still looking for Powell. Prosecutors acknowledge that, saying it took 11 hours to detain her, despite notifying Powell’s attorney, Michael Engle, of the warrants on February 4 at 7 a.m.
“At noon, (Engle) told police the suspect was near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, but would not provide an exact location,” prosecutors said.
When she was arrested, Powell didn’t have her cell phone; Engle, prosecutors say, said during the detention hearing that “she may have been instructed not to take it.”
CNN contacted Engle about the appeal but has not yet received a response.
Prosecutors note that Powell is a mother of eight children; two of them are adults and she shares custody of the other six – ages 4 to 17 – with her ex-husband. They claim that on January 6, Powell “left the children at home unsupervised.”
On January 30, the day before the article was published in New Yorker, prosecutors say she “dropped the children at her ex-husband’s house with no explanation and no indication of when she would return.” Prosecutors say the ex-husband is seeking full custody of the children.
The spokesman for the US Attorney, Margaret Philbin, confirmed to CNN that Powell is still being held in the run-up to today’s hearing in the District of Columbia, where a judge will rule on the prosecution’s appeal.
CNN’s Patrick Cornell contributed to this report.