FBI seeks Harrisburg woman believed to have stolen Pelosi's laptop in Capitol insurrection

The FBI has issued an arrest warrant for a Harrisburg woman they suspect may have stolen House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s laptop during the storming of the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6 with the intent of selling the device to Russia's foreign intelligence agency.

Federal agents narrowed their focus on Riley June Williams, a Pennsylvania native, after the 22 year old’s "former romantic partner" recognized her in video footage shot during the siege of the Capitol, according to an affidavit filed Sunday.

Williams is allegedly seen in video footage taking a laptop or hard drive from Speaker Pelosi’s office and "intended to send the computer device to a friend in Russia, who then planned to sell the device to SVR, Russia's foreign intelligence service,” the witness told Agent Jonathan Lund.

But "for unknown reasons," the witness said, the plan fell through, and Williams still has the computer device 'or destroyed it," Lund wrote in the affidavit.

"This matter remains under investigation," according to the FBI.

Just days following the attack, however, Drew Hammill, Pelosi's chief of staff, confirmed on Twitter that a laptop "only used for presentations" had been stolen from a conference room in the House Speaker's office.

Investigators tracked Williams down to an apartment in Harrisburg she shares with her mother, but by the time they located her address Saturday, she had already fled the scene, the affidavit said.

Williams’ mother told agents that a British media crew had showed up at her house the night before asking to speak with her daughter. And in a documentary released by ITV news Sunday, Williams’ mother confirmed to reporters that her daughter was the woman seen in earlier footage of the Capitol attack.

The woman identified as Williams is wearing glasses, a green shirt and brown coat, and is carrying a black and white bag over her shoulder.

"Up the stairs! Go!" she is seen shouting as she pushes rioters in the direction of Pelosi’s office. She was "disciplined, focused, with a sense of urgency, directing people up a staircase," the documentary describes.

According to the affidavit, Williams drove to Washington with her father on Jan. 6, to attend the "Stop the Steal" rally, but the two were separated during the day. They were reunited only after police cleared out the Capitol. They drove back to Harrisburg together that same day.

As videos and images of the attack began to surface online, people started to identify Williams as the woman in pictures on social media and she fled, her mother told ITV.

She didn’t say where she was going.

"She’s actually gone," Williams’ mother said. "She took off not only because of that [video]. She figures if it’s out there, they’ll [the FBI] come to her about it."

Williams has also been identified as an employee of Keystone Human Services, a home assistance network in Harrisburg that supports the disabled.

"We are aware that a Keystone employee has been identified as participating in the events of Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol," the company said in a statement, refraining from identifying Williams by name. "We are coordinating with law enforcement and taking appropriate action in response."

Still, Williams’ mother described her daughter as an "empathetic and loving person” who rarely talked about her politics. "It’s all about wanting America to get the correct information," her mother said.

Williams’ suspected role in the stealing of Pelosi’s laptop remains under investigation, but she is facing charges relating to entering a restricted building, disrupting the orderly conduct of government and engaging in disorderly or disruptive conduct, according to court documents.

More than 150 accused rioters have been charged in connection with the attack on the Capitol, according to the Associated Press.

Also of interest: