A 36-year-old woman from Millsboro and a 37-year-old man from Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, were arrested Wednesday on felony and misdemeanor charges for their role in the Capitol Hill riot and insurrection, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Both Heather Kepley and her brother Anthony Nolf have been charged with the misdemeanor charge of unlawfully entering a restricted building with the intention to impede or disrupt government business or official functions. The Department of Justice said Nolf was also charged with a felony charge of obstructing and interfering with a law enforcement officer attempting to do their job.
Kepley and Nolf are just two of more than 1,000 other people arrested so far for their role in the insurrection, and Nolf is among about 320 people charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement on Jan. 6, according to the Department of Justice.
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Heather Kepley, Anthony Nolf at the Capitol building
The Department of Justice said that Kepley, Nolf and two minors made at least one attempt to push past the line of police officers and into the Capitol on Jan. 6. Surveillance footage and photographs showed Kepley grabbing a bike rack blocking off the entrance to the Capitol and passing it out of the way to Nolf, before then following other rioters to the Lower West Terrace and the tunnel into the Capitol.
Kepley and Nolf helped a mob push past officers guarding the tunnel for about 10 minutes, according to court documents, before making their way inside. More police officers were stationed inside the tunnel blocking access to Congressional offices and other “sensitive areas,” and Nolf joined in a “heave-ho” effort to try to break the police line, court records show.
Kepley, Nolf and the other insurrectionists were eventually forced out of the tunnel. The siblings then walked away, according to court records.
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Identifying insurrectionists years later
The Federal Bureau of Investigation first interviewed Kepley in Delaware on Jan. 20, 2022, according to court records. Kepley said she traveled to Washington, D.C. with her minor son, brother and nephew to attend the rally on Jan. 6, then walked over to the Capitol and joined a group near a tunnel entrance to the building.
Court documents show that Kepley admitted to posting on social media on the day of the riot, but said she no longer had the data. But a few weeks later, an acquaintance of hers sent screenshots of her Instagram and Facebook posts to the FBI, showing Kepley and her son in D.C. on Jan. 6. and Kepley at the Capitol, appearing injured.
Nolf and his son, a minor, were already under investigation by the FBI after someone submitted a tip a few days after the riot that Nolf’s son was at the Capitol on Jan. 6, according to court records. He told investigators a similar story to his sister’s but claimed he and his son did not enter the Capitol or interact with police.
The FBI is still investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
