Federal authorities arrested a woman whose ex-romantic partner said he had taken a laptop from Mayor Nancy Pelosi’s office during the US Capitol riot.
Riley June Williams was arrested on Monday, according to a justice department official. It is not yet known when it will be its first court hearing.
The FBI said in an arrest warrant on Sunday that Williams was not charged with theft, but only with illegally entering the Capitol and disorderly conduct.
FBI officials said an interlocutor claiming to be Williams’ ex said her friends showed him a video of her picking up a laptop or hard drive from Pelosi’s office. The caller said she intended to send the device to a friend in Russia who planned to sell it to that country’s foreign intelligence service, but the plan failed and she has the device or destroyed it. The FBI says the matter is still under investigation.
Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff, Drew Hammill, confirmed on January 8 that a laptop was removed from a conference room, but said “it was a laptop used only for presentations”.
Williams’ mother, who lives with her in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, told ITV reporters that her daughter had suddenly become interested in President Donald Trump’s policy and the “far-right forums”. His father, who lives in Camp Hill, told local police that he and his daughter went to Washington on the day of the protest, but did not stay together, meeting later to return to Harrisburg, the FBI said.
Williams’ mother told local police that her daughter packed and left before she was arrested, saying she would be gone for a few weeks. She also changed her phone number and deleted several social media accounts, the FBI said. The court documents do not list a lawyer for her.