This reserve photo provided by Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Prison, shows Riley June Williams. Federal authorities on Monday, January 18, 2021, arrested Williams, whose former romantic partner says he took a laptop from Mayor Nancy Pelosi’s office during the US Capitol riot earlier this month. (Dauphin County Prison via AP)
This reserve photo provided by Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Prison, shows Riley June Williams. Federal authorities on Monday, January 18, 2021, arrested Williams, whose former romantic partner says he took a laptop from Mayor Nancy Pelosi’s office during the US Capitol riot earlier this month. (Dauphin County Prison via AP)
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A Pennsylvania woman who faces charges that she helped steal a laptop from Mayor Nancy Pelosi’s office during the attack on the US Capitol will be released from prison, a federal judge ruled on Thursday.
US Judge Martin Carlson ordered Riley June Williams to be released into her mother’s custody, with travel restrictions, and instructed her to appear before the federal court in Washington on Monday to continue her case.
“The seriousness of these offenses is great,” Carlson told Williams. “It can’t be overstated.”
Williams, 22, of Harrisburg, is accused of theft, obstruction and trespassing on property, as well as violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. Carlson noted that Williams has no criminal record.
The FBI says an unnamed Williams romantic partner warned that she appeared on video in the January 6 riots, and the insider said he hoped to sell the computer to Russian intelligence.
Williams’ defense attorney Lori Ulrich told Carlson that the informant is an ex-boyfriend who abused Williams and that “his charges are exaggerated.”
The video of the rebellion shows a woman who matches Williams’ description urging the invaders to “go up, up, up” during the attack, which briefly interrupted President Joe Biden’s election victory certification.
“It is unfortunate that Ms. Williams took the president’s bait and entered the Capitol,” Ulrich told the judge.
Williams surrendered to face the charges on Monday. She was due to leave Harrisburg County Prison on Thursday, and will be under electronic monitoring to await trial.
She did not answer questions while a federal delegate handcuffed her out of court.
Carlson made direct reference to the attack on the Capitol, saying that a howling crowd tried unsuccessfully to prevent the peaceful transition of power.
“He has been honored by generations of Americans for 232 years,” said Carlson. “It has become so common that we often think very little about it.”
In adding the charges related to the theft on Tuesday, a Virginia-based FBI agent said Williams was recorded on closed-circuit cameras at the Capitol in and out of Pelosi’s office.
The agent’s statement said that a cell phone video probably shot by Williams shows the gloved hand of a man lifting an HP laptop from a table, and the caption read, “They took the laptop.”
Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff, Drew Hammill, said a laptop used only for presentations was taken from a conference room. The computer’s current location was not disclosed in court documents and was not discussed in court on Thursday.