GLOUCESTER, Va. (WAVY/WFXR) — A Gloucester woman faces multiple charges after prosecutors say she illegally entered the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection, and even shared photos from inside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office.
Melody Steele-Smith was arrested on Jan. 20 by the FBI and charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds with lawful authority, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol Grounds.
The FBI saws law enforcement received an online tip from a relative about Steele-Smith on Jan. 8. The relative said evidence was on Steele-Smith’s Facebook page.
Investigators found multiple photos and videos, including some taken in Pelosi’s office. Other photos showed rioters inside the Capitol with the caption “we stormed the castle.” The photos were later deleted from her public account.
The FBI says they were also able to identify Steele-Smith on Capitol surveillance cameras, which showed her in the same outfit in a previous Facebook Live outside the Capitol.
Steele-Smith was one of several people from the Hampton Roads area arrested after the riot. One man from the Peninsula notably wore a “Camp Auschwitz” sweatshirt and another was a Virginia Beach charter boat captain.
Two other rioters were police officers from Rocky Mount, who have since been terminated from the department and are facing federal charges.
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