Riley June Williams was arrested in the Central District of Pennsylvania on Monday.
The FBI said in an arrest warrant on Sunday, however, 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 claimed that he 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.
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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, told ITV reporters that her daughter had suddenly become interested in President Donald Trump’s policy and “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.
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FBI officials said they believed Williams “ran away” before being arrested. Her mother told local police that she packed up and left, saying she would be gone for a few weeks. She also changed her phone number and deleted several social media accounts, the FBI said. Court documents do not list a lawyer for her.
– The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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