OK, here we go...
As the "unofficial resident expert" on GAttTotP in NC, I'll weigh in on this one.
First of all, GAttTotP is almost NEVER filed as a "stand-alone" charge. It is almost ALWAYS used as a "piling-on" charge, when someone has done something else with a firearm that is egregiously stupid, dangerous or criminal, and involves being in a vehicle or walking on a public road.
Second, NC has no "Brandishing" charge on the books. You CANNOT be charged with "brandishing" in NC, because such an offense is not defined or prohibited under the law. We DO have "Assault with a deadly weapon", "pointing a gun" and a few other charges that involve pointing a gun at someone in a menacing way, but there is NO SUCH THING as a "brandishing" violation under NC law. (This is why LEOs and DAs use the GAttTotP violation in weapons-related assault cases...)
Third, it is, in fact, illegal to carry a loaded long gun in a vehicle in NC if it is accessible from the passenger compartment, AND it is "concealed". As far as I can find, there is no statutory prohibition on loaded long gun transport in a vehicle if it is in plain view. But on the floor, behind/under the seat, or under a blanket will get you in trouble.
So now that we know these things, let's see what this woman did...
She had a loaded long gun in her car. It is not known how or where it was stored in her vehicle, so we cannot make a call based on this story whether or not she was in violation of NC's CC statutes...
She witnessed a fight, and decided she was going to go all "RoboCop" on them. She then retrieved her rifle (which we don't even know was loaded or not, because no shots were reported fired), and pointed it at the people in the fight to persuade them to stop.
So is she guilty of GAttTotP? Depends...
Did she walk with the gun on the street, or a public roadway? If she remained on private property while she was waving her gun around, then GAttTotP is NOT applicable, regardless of how "terrifying" her actions were.
It DOES, however, sound like she is guilty of "assault with a deadly weapon", which is a MUCH more serious crime, but requires a victim to testify that they were personally assaulted. From the sound of it, the people in the fight are not the sort of people who would willingly cooperate with police, so I doubt anyone will file an assault charge against this woman.
So the only real option that the police have is to toss a GAttTotP charge at her and see if they can get it to stick.
I hope she gets a decent lawyer. If they make this one stick, it sets a VERY bad precedent in NC, and could allow the police to levy GAttTotP charges at ANYONE who some random person says was waving a gun around--which could include ANY deranged, lying "anti" who wanted to ruin the day of a lawful OCer...
Good luck on this one, folks.
It sounds like this woman is probably too stupid and ignorant to be trusted with anything more dangerous than a plastic butter knife. Unfortunately, she will probably get represented by a public defender, and will most likely be convicted of the GAttTotP charge. As much as she DESERVES to be charged with SOMETHING and punished for her stupidity, there are potentially long-ranging ramifications to such a conviction that could make things a little dicey for OCers in NC, if they have contact with aggressive, psycho "antis" who are willing to file false claims against them.
This does not bode well...