Six people from North Carolina face charges in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Five people died in the attack, including a police officer, when supporters of Donald Trump attacked Congress as lawmakers met to certify the election of Joe Biden.
Since the violence in the Capitol, the FBI and the Department of Justice have launched what’s been called the biggest investigation in United States history.
Much of the attack was caught on video and in photos taken by the attackers themselves, with many boasting in live video and on social media posts about their role.
“It has been two months since violent extremists breached the U.S. Capitol and committed a litany of federal criminal acts. With the assistance of hundreds of thousands of tips from the American people, the FBI has arrested more than 300 individuals who took part in the Capitol riots. Of those, more than 65 were arrested for assaulting law enforcement officers,” the FBI said in a statement this month.
Most people charged in the attack were released from custody quickly. One accused militia member, Laura Steele, was held in jail for more than a month before a judge granted her bail under strict conditions on March 24. Steele is a former member of the High Point Police Department.
Laura Steele
Thomasville, North Carolina
Arrested: Feb. 17
Charges: Conspiracy; Obstruction of an Official Proceeding and Aiding and Abetting; Destruction of Government Property and Aiding and Abetting; Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Tampering with Documents or Proceedings
The FBI accused Steele of being part of the Oath Keepers militia and charged her with nine other alleged militia members. Court records say Steele is seen in a widely broadcast image of militia members in tactical gear walking in a line formation up the steps to the Capitol during the attack.
Steele, a former High Point police officer, is one of a few of the suspects in the attack on the Capitol to be held in custody after her arrest. She was held in jail for about a month before a judge granted bail March 24, requiring her to wear a GPS monitor.
Steele asked to become a member of the militia on January 3 so she could join Graydon Young, her brother and a member of the Oath Keepers, in Washington for the rally, officials say.
"The Oath Keepers are a large but loosely organized collection of individuals, some of whom are associated with militias. Some members of the Oath Keepers believe that the federal government has been co-opted by a cabal of elites, actively trying to strip American citizens of their rights," federal prosecutors say.
"Though the Oath Keepers will accept anyone as members, they explicitly focus on recruiting current and former military, law enforcement, and first-responder personnel," the indictment states.
Christopher Spencer
Pilot Mountain, North Carolina
Arrested: Jan. 19
Charges: Obstruction of an Official Proceeding and Aiding and Abetting; Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building; Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building
Christopher Spencer was the first person in North Carolina arrested in the sprawling federal investigation into the attack on the U.S. Capitol. His wife, Virginia Spencer, was arrested weeks later for her alleged role in the attack.
The FBI says Christopher Spencer streamed video of his time inside the Capitol on Facebook Live, according to court records. “Bro, they stormed the Capitol, bro...pushed the cops out of the way, everything...took it over,” he said in a Facebook video, court records say.
“Who would’ve knew the first time I ever come would be to storm,” Spencer said in a Facebook video before he joined a crowd attempting to break into the chamber of the House of Representatives, the FBI said.
Another video shows Spencer walking through the wing of the building near Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. “Where’s Nancy’s office?" he said in the video, according to the FBI.
Virginia (Jenny) Spencer
Pilot Mountain, North Carolina
Arrested: Feb. 8
Charges: Obstruction of an Official Proceeding and Aiding and Abetting; Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building; Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building
Virginia Spencer faces similar charges to her husband, Christopher Spencer. In an interview with federal agents, Spencer said she and her husband were pushed into the building by a mob and were trying to leave and said they left after less than 15 minutes, according to court records. But, an FBI affidavit said, videos from her husband show otherwise.
“Of note, these videos last for over 20 minutes total. The Spencers do not appear to be actively searching for exits during these videos, instead Christopher Spencer joins in with the chanting and comments to his viewers on Facebook Live. Also, the Capitol surveillance video shows Jenny Spencer using her phone in what appears to be an attempt to videotape the event in the Statuary Hall connector,” court records say.
Matthew Wood
Reidsville, North Carolina
Arrested: March 5
Charges: Obstruction of an Official Proceeding and Aiding and Abetting; Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Entering and Remaining in Certain Rooms in the Capitol Building; Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building; Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building
Wood called the FBI after he recognized himself in photographs circulated by investigators from inside the Capitol during the attack, according to court records. He said he was pushed into the building by the crowd, but admitted to being in the building for about 45 minutes and going into Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office.
“Video taken from the Senate Wing Door shows Wood willingly climbing through a broken window carrying a Trump flag into the U.S. Capitol. The video illustrates that he was present while the windows were being broken, and that he was amongst the first group of individuals to breach the Senate Wing Door (entering as the 10th individual to climb through the broken window approximately 10 seconds after it was broken),” court records say.
Wood posed with a Trump flag in in the rotunda in a photo shared on Facebook that was deleted before he spoke with investigators, according to the FBI. “Wood boasts about a ‘necessary revolt’ against a ‘tyrannical government’ and to engaging in actions that ‘sent those politicians running,’” the FBI said.
Stephen Baker
Garner, North Carolina
Arrested: Feb. 1
Charges: Knowingly Entering or Remaining in any Restricted Building or Grounds Without Lawful Authority; Violent Entry and Disorderly Conduct on Capitol Grounds
The FBI says Stephen Baker was live streaming video from inside the Capitol during the January 6 attack under the name "Stephen Ignoramous."
Baker’s live video went on the YouTube, Periscope and dlive.tv sites, court records say. Major news organizations like CNN and Reuters used the video from inside the Capitol, with credit to "Stephen Ignoramous."
Investigators say someone who knows Baker contacted the FBI after they saw the videos from the Capitol.
According to the FBI, another person told investigators they were concerned about what Baker said in other videos, "including advancement on conspiracy theories and mockery of minority groups."
Lewis Cantwell
Sylva, North Carolina
Arrested: Feb. 18
Charges: Civil Disorder; Obstruction of an Official Proceeding; Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building and Grounds; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building and Grounds; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building and Grounds; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Capitol Building and Grounds; Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building
Cantwell’s court records do not give as much detail as some other defendants accused in the Capitol attack.
“On or about January 6, 2021, within the District of Columbia and elsewhere, Lewis Easton Cantwell attempted to, and did, corruptly obstruct, influence, and impede an official proceeding, that is, a proceeding before Congress, by entering and remaining in the United States Capitol without authority and committing an act of civil disorder, engaging in disorderly and disruptive conduct, and destroying federal property,” according to a federal indictment filed Feb. 5.