FBI Investigating Tip That Pa. Woman May Have Stolen Pelosi’s Laptop, Plotted to Sell It to Russia

Aly Delp

Aly Delp

Published January 18, 2021 6:30 pm
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HARRISBURG, Pa. (EYT) — In a criminal case filed against a Pennsylvania woman accused of illegally entering the US Capitol Building on January 6, FBI officials also noted the woman is currently under investigation based on a tip that she may have stolen a laptop computer from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office with the express intent of selling the device to Russian foreign intelligence.

According to a criminal complaint filed by an FBI Special Agent, Pennsylvania resident Riley June Williams is wanted on charges of entering a restricted building, disrupting the orderly conduct of government, and engaging in disorderly or disruptive conduct in relation to the breach of the Capitol Building on January 6.

Along with evidence that Williams illegally entered the Capitol Building that day, the complaint also notes the FBI is investigating a tip that Williams stole either a laptop or a hard drive from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office during the incident.

The complaint does not expressly indicate whether or not a laptop was reported missing from Pelosi’s office. However, on January 8, Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff, Drew Hammill, tweeted that a laptop used for presentations was stolen from a conference room during the incident on January 6.

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The complaint indicates that a witness, described as Williams’ “former romantic partner,” contacted the FBI to report seeing Williams in video footage taken inside the Capitol Building on January 6. The witness noted Williams could be seen directing crowds up a staircase and into the building and provided investigators with the URL to a specific YouTube video.

The witness also told the investigators that other friends of Williams had a video of Williams taking a laptop computer or hard drive from Speaker Pelosi’s office. According to the witness, Williams planned to send the device to “a friend” in Russia, who in turn intended to sell it to SVR, Russia’s foreign intelligence service.

However, the witness allegedly told investigators the transfer of the device to Russia “fell through for unknown reasons,” and Williams was either still in possession of it or had destroyed it.

Following the initial tip, investigators reviewed the YouTube video and found the footage of a caucasian woman in a green t-shirt and a brown trench coat carrying a zebra-striped bag that is believed to be Williams. The complaint notes the woman can be heard in the video repeatedly yelling, “Upstairs, upstairs, upstairs,” while directing other people up a staircase.

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The complaint notes the investigators then confirmed with Capitol Police that the staircase depicted in the video leads to Speaker Pelosi’s office and also reviewed maps of the interior of the building to confirm the location.

Investigators also reviewed other photos and video footage of the incident on January 6 and found Williams pictured in several places.

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According to the complaint, investigators also made contact with Williams’s mother, who used her cell phone to place a video call to Williams with officers present. The officers noted that Williams appeared in the video call wearing a brown jacket consistent with the jacket in the photos and video footage from January 6.

Investigators also contacted Williams’s father, who allegedly reported he drove to Washington, D.C. with Williams for the protests on January 6, but they did not stay together through the day and only later met up to return to Harrisburg.

On January 16, ITV posted a news clip to YouTube in which the reporter interviewed Williams’s mother, and Williams’s mother positively identified the woman in the video footage in the Capitol Building as her daughter, according to the complaint.

When questioned further, Williams’s mother told investigators that Williams had packed a bag and left, saying she would “be gone for a couple of weeks” and had not provided any information about her intended destination. The complaint notes that sometime after January 6, Williams also changed her phone number and deleted her social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, Telegram, and Parler.

Investigators believe Williams has fled.

While Williams is not officially accused of theft, according to the complaint, the possible theft “remains under investigation.”

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