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A Pennsylvania federal judge on Tuesday ordered the woman accused of helping steal President Nancy Pelosi’s laptop during the riot on Capitol Hill to give up her internet access and remain under house arrest.
Prosecutors have argued that Riley Williams, 22, is asking his allies to remove the incriminating recordings on Discord, a text and voice communications app. The FBI had included screenshots of her posts on the platform in a criminal complaint against her last week.
The Justice Department accused her of trying to cover her digital tracks by deleting online accounts and swapping devices. Her defense attorney said she currently has no internet enabled device.
Riley June Williams, of Harrisburg, is released from Dauphin County jail on Thursday, Jan.21, 2021, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. laptop that she is accused of helping steal the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. (Dan Gleiter / The Patriot-News via AP)
PENNSYLVANIA WOMAN ACCUSED OF STOLYING PELOSI LAPTOP DURING CAPITOL RIOT COVERING TRACKS ONLINE: DOJ
“She has a proven history of deleting her own accounts and instructing others to delete posts about events that are under investigation,” a Justice Department prosecutor told court . “Instructions to others were revealed after his first appearance.”
In an undated Discord message, she allegedly bragged about stealing the laptop, court documents say.
“I STOLE S — FROM NANCY POLESI (sic),” wrote a user named “riley,” according to an FBI screenshot. “I DOMT (sic) CARE I TOOK NANCY POLESIS (sic) HARD DRIVES I don’t CARE KILL ME.”
On January 10, she allegedly asked the associate to delete other incriminating posts on the app.
WHERE IS THE LAPTOP STOLEN FROM NANCY PELOSI’S OFFICE?
Judge Zia Faruqui has banned Williams from using any device with internet access – except to contact her lawyer and mental health counselor through her mother’s phone.
Williams’ defense attorney argued that “it is almost impossible to exist without the Internet” and said she would need it to look for a job.
The judge said she was allowed to use an old-fashioned flip phone on her own and placed her in house arrest. She is not licensed in Washington, DC, the judge named her mother a third-party custodian, and she cannot own guns or consume excess alcohol. Other restrictions include drug testing.
In addition to the alleged theft of government property, Williams faces a slew of other charges related to the Jan.6 riot on Capitol Hill. She faces at least two crimes and a maximum of 20 years in prison.
Williams’ ex-boyfriend reported her to authorities after he found her in a YouTube video of the Capitol Riot, court documents show. His defense attorney challenged his credibility and said he had reason for revenge.
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According to the FBI, Williams intended to sell the stolen laptop to Russian intelligence agents.
Authorities have not yet recovered the laptop, but said the sale to Russia had failed.
Williams is due to return to court on March 26.
Overall, federal authorities said Tuesday they had arrested more than 100 suspected rioters on Capitol Hill and identified around 400.
Anyone who has planted homemade bombs outside the headquarters of the Democratic and Republican National Committees, however, remains at large.
Jake Gibson of Fox News contributed to this report.
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