Riley June Williams arrested. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania woman alleged to have stolen Nancy Pelosi laptop and attempted to sell it to Russian spies captured.
A Pennsylvania care worker accused of stealing a computer device from the office of House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi during the US Capitol riots and later attempting to sell it to Russian spies has been arrested.
Riley June Williams, 22, of Harrisburg was arrested Monday in Central Pennsylvania, the Justice Department said. It remained unclear whether the wanted man’s arrest was a result of her handing herself in to authorities or as a result of being captured.
William’s arrest comes just one day after she was charged with entering a restricted building, violent entry, and disorderly conduct for rioting inside the Capitol on January 6.
Federal charging documents say Williams was captured on video directing rioters up a flight of stairs inside the legislature towards Pelosi’s office.
Before being detained, Williams had reportedly fled the Harrisburg apartment she shared with her mother, telling her she’d return ‘in a few weeks’ without disclosing where she was heading.
‘intended to send the computer device to a friend in Russia, who then planned to sell the device to Russian intelligence’
The care worker is also being probed by the FBI over allegations she stole a laptop from House Speaker Pelosi’s office, however she has not yet been charged in the matter.
According to a court a court affidavit filed Sunday, a witness described as a former romantic partner of Williams’ – identified as W1 – told the FBI that he had seen a video of Williams ‘taking a laptop computer or hard drive from Speaker Pelosi’s office’ during the insurrection.
They further claimed that Williams ‘intended to send the computer device to a friend in Russia, who then planned to sell the device to SVR, Russia’s foreign intelligence service.’
However, according to the witness the plan fell through for unknown reasons and Williams is either still in possession of the device or has since destroyed it.
There’s no indication court records that a device was actually taken from Pelosi’s office, though Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff, Drew Hammill, tweeted two days after the attack that a laptop stolen was from a conference room that was used for presentations.
The FBI said the matter remains under investigation as agents work to verify W1’s ckaims. For now, Williams is just facing charges of entering a restricted building, violent entry, and disorderly conduct.
In video footage captured by ITV, Williams can be seen inside the Capitol, wearing a green T-shirt and brown trench coat, holding a zebra-print bag.
New found interest in ‘far-right message boards.’
In the clip she is heard repeatedly yelling: ‘Upstairs, upstairs, upstairs,’ and can be seen physically directing other intruders to proceed up a staircase.
The staircase in question leads to the office of Speaker Pelosi, the FBI said.
According to the FBI, Williams had driven down from Harrisburg to attend the January 6 ‘Stop the Steal’ rally with her father, of Camp Hill.
William’s father told investigators he and his daughter got separated during the event but did return home together later that night.
Her mother also told police that she recognized her daughter in the video footage inside the Capitol and that her daughter had recently taken a sudden interest in President Trump’s politics and ‘far-right message boards.’
Prior to her capture, the FBI said that Williams changing her phone number and deleting her accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, Telegram and Parler. She then ran away from home.
Left family home without disclosing new whereabouts
‘It appears that WILLIAMS has fled,’ according to the affidavit, which was signed Sunday. ‘According to local law enforcement officers in Harrisburg, WILLIAMS’ mother stated that WILLIAMS packed a bag and left her home and told her mother she would be gone for a couple of weeks. WILLIAMS did not provide her mother any information about her intended destination.’
On January 11, Williams’ parents reportedly filed a suspicious persons report against ‘W1’, the person accusing William’s of stealing the device and attempting to sell it to the Russians. The nature surrounding the report is unclear.
More than 125 people have been arrested so far on charges related to the violent insurrection led by Trump supporters at the Capitol. Charges range from curfew violations to serious federal felonies related to theft and weapons possession.
In total five people were killed during the siege, including one US Capitol Police officer who was struck in the head with a fire extinguisher.
The FBI and other law enforcement agencies continue to search for the identities of several other individuals who were photographed rioting in the Capitol.
