ORLANDO, Fla. – FBI investigators said they are examining video that they say shows three Central Florida residents preparing for the riots on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6.
Investigators said the video was shot at a gun range in Leesburg in September, and they claim it shows Kelly Meggs, Connie Meggs and Kenneth Harrelson learning how to shoot automatic weapons.
But the Meggs’ attorney claimed their clients did nothing wrong.
According to court documents, he claimed the couple was training to “prepare to be security at rallies and events.”
FBI investigators claim the Meggs are the Florida leaders of an organization called the Oath Keepers, and they also claim Harrelson is a follower.
Court records show investigators believe phone calls intended to plan for Jan. 6 were made from Harrelson’s home in Titusville, where neighbors told News 6 the family kept to themselves.
Harrelson’s wife did not want to talk about the charges her husband now faces.
The FBI also claims the Meggs would participate in those calls from their home outside Dunnellon.
In court hearings, investigators said credit card receipts showed the Meggs got a hotel room in Arlington, Virginia, where investigators claimed they stored weapons, while they stayed six miles away in another hotel near the U.S. Capitol Building.
Investigators said the weapons were never used.
“Their aim right now is really dangerous,” Susan Corke, Director of Intelligence for the Southern Poverty Law Center said.
Corke said her organization has been tracking the Oath Keepers since they were formed by a Yale Law School graduate in 2009.
She said the group is still actively recruiting.
She said the Oath Keepers target veterans and members of law enforcement for membership, where they pledge to uphold their vow to defend America, but she said the group has their own interpretation of the constitution.
“They’re promoting the idea of a present or coming civil war in America, so they’re really mobilizing and preparing their members for a very violent anti-democratic war,” Corke said.
News 6 contacted the national headquarters of the Oath Keepers twice for an interview — no one responded.
The Meggs and Harrelson have all pleaded not guilty to the charges against them, and their attorneys had no comment.
The government said they are not done making arrests in connection with Jan. 6, and Congress is preparing to conduct its own probe.
