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Capitol riot suspect plotted to sell stolen Pelosi laptop to Russian intelligence, authorities say

Riley June Williams was turned in to the FBI by a former "romantic partner," according to court documents.
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A Pennsylvania woman accused of being one of the Capitol rioters told a former "romantic partner" that she planned to steal a laptop computer from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office and sell it to Russian intelligence, court documents revealed Monday.

Riley June Williams, 22, was charged with disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds with the intent to disturb a session of Congress and other charges after her former flame turned her in.

Williams surrendered to authorities in her home state of Pennsylvania, a federal law enforcement official said late Monday. Before that she was believed to have fled.

William's ex, who was described in Special Agent Jonathan Lund's charging document as W1 (witness one), called the FBI and said she "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."

"According to W1, the transfer of the computer device to Russia fell through for unknown reasons and Williams still has the computer device or destroyed it," the document states.

Lund said the device and circumstances of what Williams was doing with it remain under investigation.

Pelosi's deputy chief of staff, Drew Hammill, confirmed in a Tweet that the laptop was stolen from the conference room on Jan. 6 and said it was "only used for presentations."

Williams lives with her mother in Harrisburg, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

The FBI said it spoke with Williams' mother Saturday. It alleged that she said "she recognized her daughter inside the U.S. Capitol Building" and that her daughter had taken a sudden interest in President Donald Trump's politics and "far-right message boards."

An affidavit released by authorities includes a link to a documentary about the Capitol riot that was recorded and produced by the British broadcaster ITV News, in which a woman identified as Williams can be seen yelling "upstairs, upstairs, upstairs" and pushing people in the direction of Pelosi's office.

The woman, the reporter can be heard saying, was "disciplined, focused, with a sense of urgency, directing people up a staircase."

Williams' mother filed a suspicious person report Jan. 11 with the police in Harrisburg, the FBI said. The suspicious person "was assumed" to be W1.

"According to the Harrisburg officers, on January 16, 2021, they again spoke with WILLIAMS' mother who told them that a British media crew had come to her home the night before, asking to speak with WILLIAMS, who was not present," the affidavit states. "The news crew presented WILLIAMS' mother with one or more images taken at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Her mother acknowledged that it was WILLIAMS in the image."

"It appears that WILLIAMS has fled," it says.