WASHINGTON — A leader among the paramilitary group the Oath Keepers said he was coordinating with the Proud Boys about how their members would work together at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, according to a new court filing from prosecutors late Tuesday night -- and they traced part of that plot to North Carolina.
Facebook chats made public in the filing by the Justice Department show Kelly Meggs, a leader among the Oath Keepers, discussing his communications with Proud Boys leadership and how he had “orchestrated a plan” with the group.
Channel 9 spent weeks pulling warrants, court documents and federal material covering the Carolinas impact on the Capitol attack.
Documents obtained on Wednesday involving a North Carolina woman show how the Oath Keepers had their sights set on insurrection weeks before the riot.
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Criminal conspiracy cases against the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers are among the most aggressive actions from the Justice Department following the violent pro-Trump riot. The new allegations about Meggs and the Proud Boys are the first time prosecutors have publicly linked allegedly violent efforts of the two right-wing extremist groups closely together.
While the messages show communications between members of the groups, prosecutors haven’t alleged an overarching conspiracy before the Capitol attack, and Justice officials so far don’t think the evidence points to that.
In a Dec. 22 Facebook message, Meggs discussed the Oath Keepers having 50 to 100 members in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, then wrote, “Plus we have made contact with PB and they always have a big group. Force multiplier.”
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Three days later on Christmas, Meggs messaged again with a person he urged to come to D.C., providing what prosecutors call a “provisions list” of armor and non-gun weapons to bring, and described in more detail an attack plan with the Proud Boys.
“D.C. is no guns. So mace and gas masks. Some batons. If you have armor that’s good ... at least get a plate carrier on Amazon. You can hang with us we will probably be guarding [redacted] or someone during the day but then at night we have orchestrated a plan with the proud boys,” Meggs wrote, according to Facebook messages excerpted in the court record.
“I’ve been communicating with [redacted] the leader. We are going to march with them for awhile then fall back to the back of the crowd and turn off. Then we will have the proud boys get in front of them ... we will come in behind antifa and beat the hell out of them.”
The FBI said Meggs led the group that Channel 9 covered, seen in photographs pushing single-file in the opposite direction of regular protesters to breach the Capitol doors.
In that group, the FBI said, was a North Carolina woman, Laura Steele -- a licensed armed security guard at Novant Health Kernersville Medical Center.
As protesters sang the National Anthem, their backs to the Capitol, the Oath Keepers appeared on a mission, dressed for combat and using a military tactic known as stacking -- marching with purpose to the doors of the Capitol.
Text messages among the group in the days leading up to the attack paint a picture of determination.
“It begins for real January 5th and 6th in Washington DC when we mobilize in the streets,” one text said, according to the documents. “This kettle is set to boil.”
Audio recordings obtained by the FBI highlighting communications between members of the Oath Keepers show their coordination.
“We have about 30-40 of us. We are sticking together and sticking to the plan,” they were recorded saying.
In that stack that first breached the Capitol, wearing black body armor and a dark hat, was Steele.
A newly unsealed arrest warrant affidavit for Steele’s phone records showed how federal agents used her iPhone location to track her to D.C., and how they used surveillance footage and photographs from news coverage of the attack to place her inside the Capitol Rotunda with her fellow Oath Keepers.
The affidavit also detailed Steele’s application to the Oath Keepers. Her brother, Graydon Young, who was also arrested for the Capitol attack, encouraged her to join the group.
In her application, Steele cited her extensive law enforcement background, serving 13 years in North Carolina with experience as a K-9 officer and as a member of the SWAT team.
The new documents that prosecutors filed to keep Steele in jail show what happened after the breech.
A text from her husband read: “You didn’t storm the Capitol building did you?”
Authorities said phone records between Steele and Meggs were erased and when agents searched Steele’s Thomasville home, they said the armored clothes were missing -- but they did note a burn pit in the backyard.
The Justice Department said in the filing it now also has credit card records of Meggs paying for four D.C.-area hotel rooms from Jan. 5 to Jan. 7, and online meeting records that show him holding D.C. planning sessions.
The documents also revealed how much more dangerous the attack could have been. Records show Meggs training with guns and bragging that he had a “QRF” -- a Quick Reaction Force -- on stand-by 10 minutes away. The FBI said that was to bring weapons to him and his team.
Prosecutors revealed the new information is part of an argument against releasing Meggs from jail. Meggs has pleaded not guilty and seeks to be released as he awaits trial.
*** CNN’s Katelyn Polentz contributed to this article.
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