Bloomfield women who took part in the Capitol siege appear in court

WASHINGTON – The two Bloomfield women facing charges in connection to the violence at the United States Capitol appeared virtually Monday afternoon before US Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui.

According to the FBI, 52-year-old Dona Sue Bissey and 49-year-old Anna Morgan-Lloyd were arrested on Wednesday, February 24th on charges of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

The magistrate appointed attorneys for both defendants.

According to court records, Morgan-Lloyd went to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office to obtain a firearms permit on January 22. An employee recognized Morgan-Lloyd as a person that posted on Facebook about the January 6th events at the U.S. Capitol. After finding posts of Morgan-Lloyd and Bissey, the Sheriff’s Department contacted the FBI.

An FBI said two confidential witnesses submitted tips to the FBI tip line about the women’s activities.

According to federal court documents, both Bissey and Morgan-Lloyd posted on Facebook they were inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, with Morgan-Lloyd posting it was the “best day ever” and Bissey posting it was “the most exciting day of my life.”

In response to a comment on this post asking if Bissey went into the building, she responded, “Yes Ma’am! Probably in the first group of 100-200 people. Picking glass out of my purse.” In other comments, she said she was just in the hallway, not the Rotunda.

In additional screenshots, Bissey tagged Morgan-Lloyd as being with her.

In one post Morgan-Lloyd wrote “I’m here. Best day ever. We stormed the capitol building me and Dona Bissey were in the first 50 people in.”

 Law enforcement officers were able to confirm their identities by comparing their Indiana state-issued driver’s license photos to a photo of the two inside the Capitol which was posted on Facebook.

The women will appear in court again on March 22. Under coronavirus guidelines, they can appear virtually.

Four other Hoosiers have been charged in connection with the deadly Capitol siege. Those charged include:

  • Kash Kelly, 32, of Hammond
  • Jon Schaffer, 52, of Columbus
  • Israel Tutrow, 22, Greenfield
  • Joshua Wagner, 23, Greenwood