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The FBI is investigating whether a woman who took part in the Jan.6 assault on the U.S. Capitol stole a laptop computer from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office and was considering selling it to Russia.
The complaint, which is still under investigation, is detailed in an affidavit filed Sunday by the FBI, describing the case against Riley June Williams, a Pennsylvania who was seen in footage of the insurgency inside. of the Capitol leading crowds.
According to the affidavit, a person identified as Williams’ former romantic partner called the FBI information line to identify Williams. The informant told the FBI they spoke to friends of Williams who showed them a video of the woman picking up a laptop or hard drive from Pelosi’s office, the affidavit states.
The tipster “said Williams intended to send the computing device to a friend in Russia, who was then considering selling the device to SVR, the Russian foreign intelligence service.”
He also notes that, “for unknown reasons,” this sale failed and that Williams still owns the device or has since destroyed it.
The FBI said in the affidavit that the tip remains under investigation. Williams faces charges related to entering a restricted-access building and disorderly conduct.
In the days following the Jan.6 uprising, Pelosi’s chief of staff Drew Hammill tweeted that “a laptop that was only used for presentations” had been taken from a conference room.
Pelosi’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment and it is not clear whether there is a link between Hammill’s tweet and the FBI investigation.
Williams was identified in the affidavit as a woman wearing a brown coat and a black and white zebra print bag on the day of the attempted coup. The FBI described video footage in which Williams physically directs crowds up a staircase as she shouts “upstairs, upstairs, upstairs.”
According to the FBI, the staircase shown in the video footage leads to Pelosi’s office.
In an interview with local law enforcement officials in Pennsylvania, Williams’ father confirmed he attended the rally on Jan.6 with his daughter, but they did not stay together throughout the day.
According to the affidavit, Williams “packed a bag and left her home and told her mother she would be gone for a few weeks.” She has since changed her phone number and deleted her accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, Telegram and Talk, according to the FBI.
A woman who answered a phone number associated with Williams’ mother declined to comment. Williams’ father did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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