Woman accused of helping steal Pelosi laptop released from prison



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This booking photo provided by Dauphin County Jail, Pa., Shows Riley June Williams. On Monday, January 18, 2021, federal authorities arrested Williams, whose former romantic partner says she took a laptop from the office of House of Commons Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the riot at the United States Capitol in early September. month. (Dauphin County Jail via AP)

This booking photo provided by Dauphin County Jail, Pa., Shows Riley June Williams. On Monday, January 18, 2021, federal authorities arrested Williams, whose former romantic partner says she took a laptop from the office of House of Commons Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the riot at the United States Capitol in early September. month. (Dauphin County Jail via AP)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A Pennsylvania woman accused of helping steal a laptop computer from the office of House of Commons Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the attack on the U.S. Capitol will be released from prison, a federal judge.

U.S. Justice of the Peace Martin Carlson has ordered Riley June Williams to be returned to her mother’s custody, with travel restrictions, and ordered her to appear in federal court in Washington on Monday to continue her case.

“The seriousness of these offenses is great,” Carlson told Williams. “This cannot be overstated.”

Williams, 22, of Harrisburg, is charged with theft, obstruction and trespassing, as well as violent entry and disorderly conduct on the Capitol grounds. Carlson noted that Williams had no criminal record.

The FBI said an unidentified former romantic partner of Williams informed them that she appeared in a video of the January 6 riot and that the informant claimed that she hoped to sell the computer to Russian intelligence.

Williams’ defense attorney Lori Ulrich told Carlson the informant was a former boyfriend who had abused Williams and that “his accusations were exaggerated.”

Video of the riot shows a woman matching Williams’ description urging the invaders to go “upstairs, upstairs, upstairs” during the attack, which briefly disrupted the certification. President Joe Biden’s election victory.

“It’s unfortunate that Ms Williams took the president’s bait and walked into the Capitol,” Ulrich told the judge.

Williams surrendered to face charges on Monday. She was due out of Harrisburg County Jail later Thursday and will be under electronic surveillance pending trial.

She did not answer questions because a Federal Marshal took her in handcuffs out of the courtroom.

Carlson made direct reference to the attack on Capitol Hill, saying a screaming mob unsuccessfully tried to prevent the peaceful transition of power.

“He’s been honored by generations of Americans for 232 years,” Carlson said. “It has become so common that we often think very little about it.”

Adding charges related to the theft on Tuesday, a Virginia-based FBI agent said Williams was taped on closed-circuit cameras in the Capitol entering and exiting Pelosi’s office.

The officer’s affidavit indicated that a cellphone video that was likely shot by Williams shows a man’s gloved hand lifting an HP laptop off a table, and the caption read, “They got the ‘laptop”.

Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill said a laptop computer used only for presentations was taken from a conference room. The current location of the computer was not disclosed in court documents and was not discussed in court on Thursday.

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