HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania, USA (AP) – A laptop stolen from the offices of the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, during the assault on the Capitol on January 6 has not been recovered from the home or car of a Pennsylvania woman accused of helping steal it, the woman’s attorney said Tuesday.
Public defender AJ Kramer told a federal judge that investigators searched Riley June Williams’ car and Harrisburg residence but did not locate the computer.
Assistant US Attorney Mona Sedky told a hearing in Washington that she was reluctant to elaborate on what she described as an ongoing investigation into various leads, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
“I feel very uncomfortable discussing the facts of this case at this stage,” Sedsky said. “I am concerned that talking about what we do and do not know and what we are investigating could jeopardize the investigation.”
Williams, 22, is charged with aiding in the theft of the laptop, which a Pelosi assistant said was used only for presentations. Williams is under electronic monitoring and primarily confined to her home awaiting trial on that charge, in addition to charges of obstruction, burglary, trespassing and disorderly conduct on Capitol Hill.
Sedsky told the judge there is evidence that Williams instructed others to erase data after the attack, the newspaper said. Federal Judge Zia M. Faruqui restricted Williams’ access to the internet while awaiting trial.
The FBI has said that a former sentimental partner of Williams who it did not identify advised them that she is seen in a video when she participates in the attack on January 6 and the informant claimed that she was seeking to sell the laptop to Russian intelligence services.
Williams’ attorneys have said the informant’s allegations are overblown.
Video of the riot shows a woman who resembles Williams exhorting attackers to “get up, get up, get up” during the attack on the Capitol. The FBI has said Williams was videotaped on closed-circuit cameras on Capitol Hill entering and leaving Pelosi’s office.
