A Pennsylvania federal judge on Tuesday ordered the woman accused of helping to steal Mayor Nancy Pelosi’s laptop during the Capitol rebellion to give up her Internet access and remain under house arrest.
Prosecutors argued that Riley Williams, 22, was instructing allies to delete incriminating records in Discord, a text and voice communication application. The FBI included screenshots of its posts on the platform in a criminal complaint against it last week.
The Justice Department accused her of trying to cover up her digital footprints by deleting online accounts and switching devices. Her defense lawyer said she currently has no devices with Internet access.
Riley June Williams of Harrisburg is released from Dauphin County Prison on Thursday, January 21, 2021, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Williams faces several charges in connection with the US Capitol riot on January 6, including theft of a laptop that she is accused of helping to steal from Mayor Nancy Pelosi’s office. (Dan Gleiter / The Patriot-News via AP)
PENNSYLVANIA WOMAN ACCUSED TO STEAL LAPTOP PELOSI DURING CAPITOL RIOT, COVERING TRACKS ONLINE: DOJ
“She has a proven track record of deleting her own accounts and instructing others to delete messages about events that are under investigation,” said a Justice Department prosecutor in court. “Instruction for others came to light after its initial appearance.”
In an undated message from Discord, she allegedly boasted of stealing the laptop, according to court documents.
“ROBEI S — DE NANCY POLESI (sic)”, wrote a user named “riley”, according to a screenshot from the FBI. “I DOMT (sic) CARE I TAKEN NANCY POLESIS (sic) HARD DRIVES I DON’T CARE KILL ME.”
On January 10, she reportedly asked members to delete other incriminating messages from the app.
WHERE IS THE STOLEN LAPTOP FROM NANCY PELOSI’S OFFICE?
Judge Zia Faruqui has banned Williams from using any device with Internet access – except to contact his lawyer and mental health advisor via his 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 is allowed to use an old-fashioned flip-phone and placed her in home confinement. She is not allowed to enter Washington, DC, the judge has appointed her mother as an outsourced guardian, and she cannot own firearms or consume excess alcohol. Other restrictions include drug testing.
In addition to the alleged theft of government property, Williams faces a number of other charges in connection with the January 6 riot on Capitol Hill. She faces at least two crimes and a maximum of 20 years in prison.
Williams’ ex-boyfriend flagged the authorities after he allegedly found her in a YouTube video of the Capitol riot, according to court documents. His defense lawyer contested his credibility and said he had reason to seek 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 expected to return to court on March 26.
Overall, federal officials said on Tuesday that they had arrested more than 100 suspected Capitol rioters and identified about 400.
Whoever placed the bombs outside the Democratic and Republican national committee, however, remains at large.
Fox News’ Jake Gibson contributed to this report.