WOMAN HELD FOR STEALING NANCY PELOSI’S COMPUTER FROM CAPITOL HILL

WASHINGTON: Federal authorities have arrested a Pennsylvania woman accused of stealing a laptop computer or hard drive from US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office during the storming of the Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump, according to various media reports.

Riley June Williams, who has been charged with unlawfully breaching the Capitol building and with disorderly conduct was arrested on Monday, Associated Press said, citing a justice department official.

The FBI said in a court filing on Sunday that Williams was seen on video taking “a laptop computer or hard drive” from Pelosi’s office. It is investigating whether she tried to sell the device to Russian intelligence.

The New York Times reported that Williams had turned herself in to local police on Monday. The justice department did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

According to the affidavit filed with the US District Court for the District of Columbia, the FBI received a tip from someone who claimed to have been a former romantic partner of Williams. The tipster said Williams “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 affidavit stated.

“The transfer of the computer device to Russia fell through for unknown reasons and Williams still has the computer device or destroyed it,” according to the affidavit. The probe remains open. The timing of her initial court appearance wasn’t known.

The FBI earlier said it appeared Williams had deactivated her phone number, took down social media accounts and fled an address near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, that she shared with her mother.