Authorities are on the hunt for a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, woman suspected of taking a laptop from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office during the riot that occurred earlier this month. The FBI believes the woman intends to sell the device to Russian intelligence forces.
Officials have linked Riley June Williams to the events that shook Capitol Hill on January 6. According to an arrest warrant, a tipster called into the FBI’s hotline and told authorities they recognized Williams in several videos from the siege.
The tipster claims to have seen a video of Williams “taking a laptop computer or hard drive from Speaker Pelosi’s office.”
The warrant says that the unidentified tipster “stated 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. According to [the tipster], the transfer of the computer device to Russia fell through for unknown reasons and WILLIAMS still has the computer device or destroyed it.”
There is still an ongoing investigation into the stolen device.
Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff, Drew Hammill, confirmed that the laptop had been stolen via Twitter.
A laptop from a conference room was stolen. It was a laptop that was only used for presentations. https://t.co/S7YGPnLaWy
— Drew Hammill (@Drew_Hammill) January 8, 2021
In one of the ITV News clips mentioned in the warrant, a woman who looks like Williams can be heard “repeatedly yelling, ‘Upstairs, upstairs, upstairs,’ and can be seen physically directing other intruders to proceed up a staircase.” Investigators say the staircase leads to the House Speaker’s office.
In another ITV News clip, William’s mother told reporters she “recognized her daughter inside the U.S. Capitol Building and that her daughter had taken a sudden interest in President Trump’s politics and ‘far-right message boards.”
The mother said her daughter “took off,” and she was unaware of her whereabouts. Williams also changed her phone number and may have deleted several of her social media accounts.
Williams is wanted on charges of knowingly entering a restricted building, violent entry, and disorderly conduct.
