TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Federal authorities said they were tipped off that two Greene County women may have breached the Capitol Jan. 6 after community members, including the local sheriff’s office saw several Facebook posts made by the pair.
Anna Morgan-Lloyd and Dona Sue Bissey appeared in the Terre Haute federal court building Friday for a reading of charges following their Feb. 23 arrest in connection to the Capitol riots. Both women were handcuffed and masked as they walked into the courtroom.
According to court documents, Anna Morgan-Lloyd went to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office Jan. 22 to obtain a firearms permit. While processing the applications, an employee at the office recognized Morgan-Lloyd as someone who posted on Facebook about the Jan. 6 events.
The Sheriff’s Department reviewed publicly available Facebook posts and found photos of Morgan-Lloyd and Bissey around and inside the Capitol building at the time of the events.
Two other confidential witnesses also submitted tips to the FBI tip line regarding the two women, court documents revealed.
The witnesses also provided investigators with screenshots of Facebook posts of photographs similar to what the sheriff’s office found online. At least one of the photos with a date stamp of Jan. 6 was captioned “Inside Capitol Building.” In response to a comment on the post asking if she went inside, Bissey responded, “Yes Ma’am! Probably in the first group of 100-200 people. Picking glass out of my purse.”
Both women were charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds and violent entry/disorderly conduct. If convicted, they could face up to 10 years in federal prison and fines up to $250,000.
They were released on a number of special conditions Friday. They are not allowed to travel outside the Southern District of Indiana and are barred from traveling to Washington, D.C. They are also barred from speaking to each other and must get rid of any firearms in their homes.