LONG NECK, Del. - A 36-year-old Millsboro woman was arrested Wednesday morning for participating in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Heather Kepley was charged with misdemeanor offenses that include entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds.
According to court documents, Kepley entered the Capitol grounds with 37-year-old Anthony Nolf of Birdsboro, Pa., near the inaugural stage where they assisted other rioters in moving bike racks from an area near the scaffolding that were impeding the rioters' approach to the Capitol building. After moving one of the bike racks, the pair made their way to the lower West Terrace and the tunnel. Kepley and Nolf joined other rioters in attempts to force their way past law enforcement officers.
The Department of Justice said that, while inside the tunnel, Nolf confronted and assisted the crowd in confronting the police officers that were preventing the tunnel and Capitol from being breached in what the department called a "heave-ho" effort. Officers forced rioters back and Nolf and Kepley stood outside the tunnel to watch before walking away.
The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section. It is being investigated by the FBI.
Since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,000 people have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 320 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. Investigations are ongoing.