Developing story: 2 Sevier County deputy clerks charged after FBI raids Sevier County Courthouse [View all]

UPDATE 6 PM THURSDAY: Two Sevier County Clerk's Office deputy clerks face federal charges of obstructing interstate commerce, part of a wider investigation that looked into cocaine trafficking in Sevier County, records show.

Roberta Lynne Webb Allen, 55, appeared Thursday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Knoxville before U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Guyton. She faces two counts of the federal charge "to obstruct, delay and affect commerce and the movement of articles and commodities in commerce by extortion."

Webb Allen appeared before Guyton wearing handcuffs and leg shackles. She'll be allowed to be released before federal trial, but she also faces a related misdemeanor charge in Sevier County for which she must post bond, authorities said.

Webb Allen wept at times during her roughly 20-minute court appearance.

Guyton set her trial date for Dec. 14, although initial trial dates rarely go through. The magistrate judge noted Webb Allen has no criminal history.

Also charged, records show, is Brandy M. Thornton, also a deputy clerk in the Sevier County Clerk's Office.

https://www.wbir.com/article/news/local/fbi-raids-sevier-county-courthouse/51-bc88a757-0a1a-4fcd-92c8-be615ea456c4
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This is going to get interesting!