AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas attorney associated with the right-wing group the Oath Keepers now faces charges related to the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. Kellye SoRelle was arrested in Junction, Texas on Thursday and made her first court appearance at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in Austin.
SoRelle faces four charges, including three felonies. The felony charges are conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding, and aiding and abetting, along with obstruction of justice, tampering with documents.
“The conspiracy doesn’t have to be something you sit down and have a lot of meetings an email and phone calls and plan it out,” said attorney and former federal prosecutor John Teakell, “the evidence could be based upon the circumstances and the actions of the defendants.”
She also faces a misdemeanor charge of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds.
“To me the one that may be the easiest to prove for the prosecution is the misdemeanor, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds because it’s pretty much just how the charge reads: entering or remaining in a restricted area,” Teakell said.
SoRelle’s connection to the Oath Keepers has ranged from general counsel to acting president.
In court today, Judge Howell read off a list of conditions for SoRelle’s release, including travel restrictions barring her from Washington D.C., except for court-related purposes.
She’s also not to have any contact with victims or witnesses.
Howell says violating these restrictions will lead to arrest and she’ll be placed in jail.
Her next court appearance will be in Washington D.C. and SoRelle will join over Zoom. That’s set for September 6th at noon central time.
The Public Information Officer at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia released this statement following numerous requests for information:
Kellye SoRelle, 43, an attorney from Texas, was arrested this morning on charges stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol breach. She was arrested in Junction, Texas. Ms. SoRelle is to make her initial appearance later today in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, at the courthouse in Austin.
The arrest follows an indictment returned yesterday in the District of Columbia. The indictment includes a total of four counts. Three charges are felonies: conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding, and obstruction of justice-tampering with documents. One charge is a misdemeanor: entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Because this is a pending case, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia has no further comment at this time
More than 800 people from nearly all 50 states have been arrested in connection to the January 6th attack.
