Woman Accused of Stealing Pelosi Laptop During Capitol Breach Trying to Cover Tracks: Prosecutors

Riley June Williams in a file booking photograph (L), and a still image from video, believed to be taken by Riley June Williams, shows a laptop computer being handled in what the FBI believes is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office on Jan. 6, 2021. Dauphin County Prison via AP; FBI

The 22-year-old Pennsylvania woman who is accused of stealing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s laptop computer during the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol is trying to hide her involvement in the crime, prosecutors alleged Monday.

Prosecutors told the court that they were aware Williams was shutting down her social media accounts, news outlets reported. But, prosecutors added, they now “have indications that she was instructing other people to delete messages as well.”

Williams was released to home confinement last week. Prosecutors now want her Internet access cut off. A public defender representing Williams told the court that the accused does not have access to a computer or a smart phone, Fox News reported.

The hearing was pushed back until Tuesday before concluding.

A computer is pictured in the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Williams was taken into custody earlier this month after being accused of stealing a computer or hard drive from Pelosi’s office on Jan. 6. A friend of the woman, as well as her lawyer, say the person identified by the FBI as a tipster is an abusive ex-boyfriend. In an amended affidavit, an FBI special agent said local law enforcement officers in Harrisburg received a suspicious persons report filed by Williams’s mother regarding the ex-boyfriend.

Williams deleted all of her social media accounts, court documents indicate. Her lawyer has said they were deleted as part of the effort to escape the former romantic partner.

That man gave the FBI copies of several video clips on Jan. 18, including one four-second video that shows a laptop on a wooden desk. A female voice believed to be Williams can be heard telling a male to put on gloves before a man’s arm with a black glove begins to lift the computer off the table. Text imposed on the clip states, “they got the laptop.”

The FBI said it confirmed with U.S. Capitol Police representatives that an HP brand laptop was stolen from Pelosi’s office.

The agent also said in the amended court document that he observed a person reposting the videos provided by the tipster on Twitter along with posts from a user named “Riley” on Discord, a social media platform. In the posts, Riley states, among other things, “I stole [expletive] from Nancy Polesi [sic],” and “I took Polesis [sic] hard drives.”

Williams faces four charges, including obstructing an official proceeding and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. She faces over 30 years in prison if convicted.