FBI investigating woman who allegedly stole laptop from House Speaker’s office News
© Wikimedia (Tyler Merbler)
FBI investigating woman who allegedly stole laptop from House Speaker’s office

According to court documents filed Sunday, the FBI is investigating a woman who allegedly stole a laptop from Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s office during the January 6 siege of the US Capitol.

A special agent with the FBI filed an arrest warrant for Riley Williams, a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-based woman charged with illegally entering the Capitol, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

According to the agent’s statement of facts, “video footage which appeared to be captured on mobile devices of persons present on the scene depicted evidence of violations of local and federal law, including scores of individuals inside the US Capitol Building without authority to be there.”

The complaint against Williams, filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, comes after the FBI received a tip from Williams’ “former romantic partner,” who identified her as depicted in video footage taken on January 6 from inside the Capitol Building. The footage showed Williams verbally and physically directing intruders to proceed up a staircase within the building. Capitol Police confirmed that the staircase in question leads to Speaker Pelosi’s office.

The video footage also shows Williams taking a “laptop computer or hard drive from Speaker Pelosi’s office.” The tipster informed the FBI that Williams had “intended to send the computer device to a friend in Russia, who then planned to sell the device to the SVR, Russia’s foreign intelligence service.” Whether she is still in possession of the device remains under investigation.

Williams’ mother noted her daughter’s “sudden interest in President Trump’s politics and ‘far-right message boards'” leading up to the events of January 6. Court documents suggest Williams has since fled Harrisburg after changing her phone number and deleting her social media profiles.

Williams is charged with violating 18 USC § 1752(a)(1) and (2) and 40 USC 5104(e)(2).