PITTSBURGH - A 40-year-old mother of eight children from Mercer County should remain in jail, according to prosecutors who say she left six of those children alone to take part in the January 6 insurrection at the nation’s capital.

Rachel Powell was still in the Butler County prison early Thursday, where she has been since February 4 when federal agents arrested her on charges of obstruction, depredation of government property, violent entry, and taking a dangerous weapon onto restricted property.

On Monday, a federal magistrate found that Powell is a danger to the community. However, the judge decided that she is not a flight risk and said she could be placed on home detention while she waits for further court action.

However, at the request of government prosecutors, Magistrate Judge Lisa Pupo Lenihan stayed the release order until Wednesday evening, allowing the U.S. Attorney to file an appeal.

Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin filed that appeal Wednesday afternoon, resulting in Powell not being released from prison.

In the appeal, Sherwin went to Washington, leaving six of her children, aged 4 to 17 years old, home alone to attend the Capitol rally. Two of Powell's eight children are adults.

When federal agents searched Powell’s Sandy Lake home, they say they found several smashed cell phones and firearms paraphernalia.

There were also bags that law enforcement described as “go bags” because they appeared to be prepacked for a planned departure.

Investigators also say Powell used an encrypted cell phone to contact her ex-husband.

Calling circumstances of the case “disturbing,” investigators say Powell “abandoned” her children to take part in the Capitol insurrection.

The government’s appeal says Powell came to Washington armed with earmuffs designed to muffle the sound of gunfire and wearing a jacket designed to conceal a weapon.

“Not content to peacefully demonstrate, she used a battering ram to break into the U.S. Capitol. In doing so, she put the lives of both law enforcement and rioters in jeopardy,” said Sherwin in the appeal. “Then, she directed her fellow rioters on how best to penetrate the Capitol. By directly encouraging violence and destruction, the defendant fueled a situation that threatened the peaceful transfer of power in the United States.”

Calling evidence in the case “overwhelming,” prosecutors say the charges Powell faces carry substantial penalties, which provide a motive for her to flee and evade law enforcement, “a thought that the defendant already appears to have contemplated by virtue of her leaving her children a second time on January 30.”

The U.S. Attorney says Powell has a disregard for law enforcement. Third, the defendant’s history and characteristics indicate a disregard for law enforcement. “Once she realized she had been discovered, instead of turning herself in, she gave an interview to the New Yorker. She did not express remorse.”

According to the appeal document, Powell’s attorney said she had asked a friend to hold on to her handgun and AR-15.

“Although Pennsylvania law may permit the defendant to maintain such an arsenal, it nonetheless indicates the continued capacity to carry out the sort of fear and intimidation that took place at the Capitol,” said the U.S. Attorney.

“Finally, it is difficult to fathom a more serious danger to the community. It bears repeating that the defendant was a leading participant in the most violent insurrection to occur at the U.S. Capitol in over 200 years. She was no onlooker; she perpetrated violence and encouraged others to do the same—all aimed at overcoming law enforcement, intimidating public officials, and undermining the Constitution and the peaceful transfer of presidential power,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s appeal, which concludes that there are no conditions that will assure the safety of the community and Powell’s return to court.

Prosecutors ask that Powell remain in custody until her trial.