A Thomasville woman registered as a security guard for Novant Health is suspended from working as an armed guard after she was charged in connection with the Capitol riot on Jan. 6.

Laura Steele, a former officer with the High Point Police Department, was among six people indicted by a federal grand jury last week.

“The Board can suspend or revoke a license or registration for violating provisions of the Private Protective Services Act. PPS Director Paul Sherwin has today signed an order of summary suspension for Steele’s armed guard registration,” a spokesperson for North Carolina’s Department of Public Safety said Monday.

A spokesperson for Novant Health says the system does not comment on any personnel matters..

Steele and five others are believed to be associated with an organization known as the Oath Keepers, a large and loosely organized militia.

According to court documents, the group’s focus is recruiting former military and law enforcement officers.

Prosecutors allege Steele’s application to the Oath Keepers highlighted her duties as a former K-9 officer and SWAT team member.

She was sworn in by the department in March of 1992 and terminated in August of 2004. A spokesperson said at some point with the department, Steele also served as a school resource officer.

Public records show Steele was terminated for conduct toward superiors, absence from duty and violation of communications policy.

Steele’s husband served as assistant police chief at the High Point Police Department from 2015 until his retirement on January 1, 2021.

Laura Steele is charged with conspiracy to obstruct Congress among other charges.

The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Middle District of Florida, the Middle District of North Carolina and the Southern District of Ohio.