Attorney says laptop stolen from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s offices during Capitol attack has not been recovered by investigators
HARRISBURG, Pa. – A laptop stolen from the offices of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the Capitol attack has not been found in the home or car of a Pennsylvania woman accused of helping him steal, the woman’s lawyer said Tuesday.
Public defender AJ Kramer told a federal judge that investigators searched Riley June Williams’ car and Harrisburg residence but had not found the computer.
Assistant US attorney Mona Sedky said at a hearing in Washington that she was reluctant to say more about what she described as an ongoing and fluid investigation, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
“I find it very uncomfortable to discuss the facts of the case at this stage,” Sedky said. “I’m afraid talking about what we do and don’t know and what we run out could jeopardize the investigation.”
Williams, 22, is accused of helping to steal the laptop, which, according to a Pelosi assistant, was only used for presentations. She has electronic surveillance and is largely confined to her home to await her trial on that charge, along with obstruction, trespasses, and violent access and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
Sedky told the judge that there is evidence that Williams ordered others to delete data after the attack, the paper said. Judge Zia M. Faruqui of the US magistrate has restricted Williams’ Internet access pending trial.
The FBI has said that an unidentified former Williams romantic partner tipped them off that she appeared in video of the January 6 riots, and the tipster claimed she had hoped to sell the computer to Russian intelligence.
Her lawyers have said the tipster’s allegations are exaggerated.
Video of the riot shows a woman who matches Williams’s description urging intruders to “go up, up, up,” during the attack. The FBI has said that Williams has been recorded on closed-circuit cameras in the Capitol entering and exiting Pelosi’s office.
An FBI affidavit said a cell phone video likely shot by Williams showed the gloved hand of a man lifting an HP laptop from a table, and the caption read, “They’ve got the laptop.”