The FBI has received a tip in connection to a woman who possibly stole a laptop from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office.
A new criminal case has been opened after the FBI received a tip that a woman named Riley June Williams stole a laptop during the Jan.6 domestic terrorist attack on the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to sell it to Russia. The woman was identified by her former romantic partner in a video inside the Capitol building. According to an affidavit filed on Sunday, the footage showed Williams directing people “upstairs” to Pelosi’s office.
The tip also “also claimed to have spoken to friends of Williams, who showed (the tipster) a video of Williams taking a laptop computer or hard drive from Speaker Pelosi’s office,” the affidavit says, CNN reports. The 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.”
The affidavit went on to say that the “transfer of the computer device to Russia fell through for unknown reasons, and Williams still has the computer device or destroyed it.”
While there is no court record of a laptop being stolen, two days after the attack, Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff, Drew Hammill, tweeted that a laptop used for presentations – was stolen. The FBI says the “matter remains under investigation.”
People have been sharing what appears to be videos of Williams leaving the raid scene holding a bag. “Well, I totally captured Riley June Williams fleeing the #CapitolRiot with Pelosi’s laptop/hard drive. Huh,” tweet is captioned along with the video. On Monday, NBC News correspondent Tom Winter tweeted that Williams has been arrested and charged over her role in the Capitol riot.
“The FBI says she told a former partner that she intended to take a laptop / hard drive stolen from Pelosi’s office, ship it to Russia, where a friend would turn it over to the SVR — Russian intel,” the tweet reads.
NBC News: The FBI has charged Riley Williams with her role in the Capitol riot.
The FBI says she told a former partner that she intended to take a laptop / hard drive stolen from Pelosi's office, ship it to Russia, where a friend would turn it over to the SVR — Russian intel. pic.twitter.com/OFW5LuABr2
— Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) January 18, 2021
Everything’s fine. https://t.co/7Awm1I1wC7
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) January 18, 2021
https://twitter.com/dudgedudy/status/1351178713111662593
