Woman Accused of Taking Laptop From Pelosi’s Office During US Capitol Breach Arrested

Woman Accused of Taking Laptop From Pelosi’s Office During US Capitol Breach Arrested
A computer is pictured in the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
Janita Kan
1/19/2021
Updated:
1/19/2021

A woman who was wanted for allegedly taking a laptop from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office during the U.S. Capitol breach has been arrested, the Justice Department said.

Riley June Williams, from Pennsylvania, was arrested on Jan. 18 in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, the department indicated on its website. Law enforcement officials told several media outlets that Williams had self-surrendered.

The DOJ did not immediately respond to The Epoch Times’ questions about the arrest.

Williams has been accused of taking a computer or hard drive from Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) office with plans to sell it to Russia, according to an affidavit by an FBI special agent filed in a criminal case against her. The agent said a witness, a former romantic partner of Williams, told the bureau that Williams had intended to send the device to a friend in Russia, who in turn would sell the device to Russia’s foreign intelligence service, the affidavit stated.

The transfer of the device to Russia eventually “fell through for unknown reasons” and William was still in possession or had destroyed the device, the witness told the bureau.

The investigation over the allegations is ongoing, the FBI said.

Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill confirmed on Jan. 10 that a laptop was stolen from a conference room belonging to the house speaker’s office.

“It was a laptop that was only used for presentations,” Hammill wrote in a statement. It is unclear whether the computer Williams had allegedly taken is the same one.

The special agent said it appeared Williams had fled home following the Jan. 6 Capitol breach. William’s mother told local law enforcement officers that her daughter packed a bag and left her home after telling her mother that she would be gone for a couple of weeks. She also changed her telephone number and deleted her social media accounts, the agent alleged.

Williams was charged with knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

The FBI and DOJ have opened at least 200 cases in connection to the U.S. Capitol breach, where groups of rioters and some protesters stormed the Capitol building when lawmakers were counting electoral votes. Mayhem on the Capitol grounds left five people dead and dozens of police officers injured.

Federal authorities have charged at least 80 cases and arrested 34 individuals in connection to the acts of violence at the Capitol, the DOJ said.

This comes on the same day that three other people were charged for their alleged involvement in the U.S. Capitol breach.

Nicolas Moncada, a 20-year-old student at the Fashion Institute of Technology, was arrested at his home in Staten Island early on Monday, the FBI said. The school shared information with the FBI about a social media post showing him at the Capitol, according to local media reports.

Thomas Sweeney of Freeport, New York, was charged on Monday but was not yet in custody, an FBI spokeswoman said. Sweeney, 53, retired from the New York Fire Department in October, local media reported.

Similarly, Leo Kelly was arrested in Iowa on Monday after a video interview posted online described him as “one of the first men to break the Capitol building and go inside with dozens of others,” according to a court document. He was charged unlawful entry and disorderly conduct charges, according to court documents.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly condemned the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, as well as the lawlessness unleashed by rioters and some protesters.

“I want to be very clear: I unequivocally condemn the violence that we saw last week. Violence and vandalism have absolutely no place in our country and no place in our movement,” he told the country.

“Making America Great Again has always been about defending the rule of law, supporting the men and women of law enforcement, and upholding our nation’s most sacred traditions and values. Mob violence goes against everything I believe in and everything our movement stands for. No true supporter of mine could ever endorse political violence. No true supporter of mine could ever disrespect law enforcement or our great American flag. No true supporter of mine could ever threaten or harass their fellow Americans.

“If you do any of these things, you are not supporting our movement. You are attacking it, and you are attacking our country,” Trump said.

Reuters contributed to this report.