A Mercer County woman charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol has had her motion to relax conditions of her electronically monitored release denied by a federal judge.

In a ruling made Tuesday in the case against Rachel Powell, Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the U.S. District of Columbia District Court ruled for stricter conditions of her pretrial release, calling for home confinement rather than GPS monitoring.

“The defendant shall not be permitted to leave her residence without the express advance approval of her pretrial service officer,” Lamberth wrote.

The defendant also will pay all or part of the cost of location monitoring based on an amount determined by the pretrial service officer, the judge noted.

Powell, 42, of Sandy Lake, Pa., faces eight counts and will be tried Nov. 15 in D.C. court.

Powell is charged with eight counts from Jan. 6, 2021, including obstruction of an official proceeding, destruction of government property, remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a weapon, disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a weapon, physical violence in a restricted building or grounds with a weapon, disorderly conduct in the Capitol, an act of physical violence in the Capitol and parading, demonstrating or picketing in the Capitol.

The charges are linked to Powell recorded on video wearing a pink hat and using a bullhorn to instruct others while the Capitol was overrun by a crowd trying to stop the electoral vote count of the 2020 election. The government also charged that Powell and other rioters had used a pipe to ram open a window of the Capitol in an attempt to gain entry.

She will be tried on Nov. 15 in a D.C. court.

THREE VIOLATIONS

A filing by the government earlier this month noted that Powell three times had violated the terms of her release, which allowed for work privileges.

In the first violation, the prosecution noted Powell livestreamed herself at her place of work wearing a mesh “mask” made of pieces of string. This was done in mockery of her condition of release, which requires her to wear a face mask for health safety reasons.

In a second violation, the government accused Powell going to the bank with her boss / boyfriend during work hours and then to a brewery, where she was seen by a witness.

In the third violation, Powell is accused of leaving home for work earlier than the allotted time.

The defendant told the pretrial services officer that the second violation involved “a working lunch” and for the third violation, she had left home to go gardening as part of her job duties.

CONDITIONS

In a filing dated May 23, an attorney for Powell asked that the defendant’s conditions for release be relaxed stating: “These conditions both impose serious impediments to Powell’s family and work obligations, and are not necessary to ensure her appearance (in court).”

Powell was forced to sell her home to raise money for her legal defense, the defense motion states. Her rental residence is not big enough to accommodate three of her teen sons, who now live alone in a nearby efficiency dwelling. Because of her court-ordered curfew, monitored by an ankle bracelet, Powell cannot enter the teens’ efficiency after 6 p.m.

The court had denied this defense motion in July, records show.

Powell is charged with eight counts from Jan. 6, 2021, including obstruction of an official proceeding, destruction of government property, remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a weapon, disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a weapon, physical violence in a restricted building or grounds with a weapon, disorderly conduct in the Capitol, an act of physical violence in the Capitol, and parading, demonstrating or picketing in the Capitol.

The charges are linked to Powell recorded on video wearing a pink hat and using a bullhorn to instruct others while the Capitol was overrun by a crowd trying to stop the electoral vote count of the 2020 election. The government also charged that Powell and other rioters had used a pipe to ram open a window of the Capitol in an attempt to gain entry.

The judge on July 8 had also denied defendant’s motion to dismiss the obstruction of an official proceeding charge from Powell’s case.