( CNN ) -- A federal judge on Friday ordered a North Carolina teacher to remain in custody until her trial over an alleged plot to behead witnesses who testified against a would-be terrorist . Nevine Aly Elshiekh was arrested with Shkumbin Sherifi on January 22 . Just nine days earlier , the man they were allegedly in collusion with -- Hysen Sherifi , who is Shkumbin Sherifi 's brother -- was sentenced to 45 years in prison for being part of what prosecutors called a `` violent jihad '' that had conspired to kill people overseas and kill a federal officer . A criminal complaint alleges that Elshiekh and the Sherifi brothers tried to pull off a plan to `` murder and behead '' three people who testified against Hysen Sherifi at his trial last year . Facing charges of conspiracy to commit murder , Elshiekh is on leave as director of special education at the Sterling Montessori Academy in Morrisville , North Carolina , a Raleigh-Durham suburb . The man listed in court documents as her lawyer , Charles Swift , did not immediately respond to messages Friday for comment . A longtime friend of Elshiekh 's said the charges do n't reflect who she is . `` It 's hard for me to imagine that she could be involved with anything crazy or shady . She 's not the type of person to get involved in stupid stuff , '' Sahar El Shafie said . `` Anyone who knows the woman would tell you no way . It 's so out of character for someone who is a special education teacher . '' Prosecutors said Hysen Sherifi -- a native of Kosovo who is a U.S. legal permanent resident in North Carolina -- and as many as eight others were part of a homegrown terrorism ring between 2006 and 2009 . In Hysen Sherifi 's case , officials say that involved taking part in paramilitary training and conspiring to attack U.S. military service members and their families at the Marine Corps base in Quantico , Virginia . He was arrested in 2009 and convicted in October of conspiring to kill a federal officer or employee , plotting to kill people overseas , conspiring to provide material support for terrorism and two firearms charges . According to the 10-page federal complaint , confidential informants told the FBI that Hysen Sherifi expressed a desire to hire someone to murder three witnesses who testified against him during his federal trial . He also targeted an inmate who he believed had `` defrauded '' him out of money concerning his federal charges , documents state . `` During conversations ... he wants photographs taken , and provided ( to ) him , of the dead bodies and severed heads , '' an FBI special agent in charge noted after reviewing recordings between Hysen Sherifi and an informant . `` Sherifi , in sum and substance , explained he wants the witnesses to completely disappear so they can not testify against him , and others , at any future trials . '' The complaint said that an informant was told to use the photos depicting the decapitated bodies to `` convince other potential witnesses not to testify against him , or his co-conspirators , at future proceedings . '' Elshiekh visited Hysen Sherifi in a North Carolina jail in December , at which point Sherifi gave her a message to pass on to someone else , the criminal complaint states . In subsequent months , she had repeated contacts with the jailed man , his brother Shkumbin Sherifi and the FBI 's informants . Then , in January , Elshiekh allegedly gave an informant $ 750 as initial payment to kill one of the intended victims . Shkumbin Sherifi gave the same informant the other $ 4,250 of the agreed-upon fee , the complaint states . A Raleigh , North Carolina-based group called Our Ummah , One Body is urging people not to make assumptions before hearing all sides of the case . `` Allegations are not facts , '' the group said on its website . `` Facts are not known yet . As a community , we have known good from both . We remind the Muslim and non-Muslim community members that , according to the law , both are presumed innocent until proven otherwise . '' CNN 's Yasmin Amer contributed to this report .
Nevine Aly Elshiekh is held in alleged plot to behead witnesses against would-be terrorist . She is on leave from position at Montessori school in North Carolina . The FBI says the two women are accused of plotting a terror attack using an explosive device and other weapons during Ramadan.