On Nov. 21, a woman from Pennsylvania was convicted of four felonies related to her actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, Stop the Steal rally in the U.S. Capitol.
Riley June Williams, 22, was seen storming into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)’s office on Capitol Hill that day.
Williams was found guilty of six federal counts, including civil disorder. Two further accusations, however, including “aiding and abetting the theft” of a laptop that was taken from Pelosi’s office suite during the uprising, resulted in a deadlocked jury. Williams’ involvement in obstruction of Congress’ Jan. 6 proceeding, a felony that carries a 20-year maximum penalty, was likewise not agreed upon by the jury.
Her sentence is set to be delivered in February.
After the jury returned their decision, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered Williams to be arrested, citing her history of fleeing.
According to law enforcement officers in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Williams’s mother said that after the Jan. 6 breach, her daughter packed a bag and left home, saying she’d be gone for a couple of weeks.
She also changed her phone number and deleted accounts on social media platforms, including Facebook, Reddit, and Parler.
Her lawyer Lori Ulrich described her act as an effort to escape a former romantic partner.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Martin Carlson in Jan ordered her released into the custody of her mother, with travel restrictions.
Williams was taken into custody on Jan. 18 after being accused of stealing a computer or hard drive from Pelosi’s office on Jan. 6 to sell to Russia. A friend of the woman, Cy Sanders, as well as her lawyer, said the person identified by the FBI as a tipster is an abusive ex-boyfriend.
The agency cited that man, who claimed to have been shown video of her taking a computer or hard drive from the House speaker’s office, in the court document.
A Pelosi aide confirmed the stolen laptop was from her office, noting that it was only used for presentation.
Sanders dismissed the accusation, arguing that the story was set up by Williams’s ex-boyfriend.
“The whole story has been orchestrated by her abusive ex-boyfriend who currently has a [protection from abuse order] against him,” Cy Sanders, who traveled to Washington with Williams at the time, told The Epoch Times via email.
In the 21 months since the Jan. 6 breach, over 880 individuals from almost 50 states have been arrested.
Around 3,000 people are estimated to have entered the Capitol or assaulted law enforcement officials on Jan. 6. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamie Carter told the judge that the DOJ might eventually bring charges against 2,000 individuals.
Janita Kan and Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
