WASHINGTON — The FBI is investigating whether a Pennsylvania woman stole a laptop or hard drive from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office during the riot at the U.S. Capitol and then planned to sell it to Russian intelligence.


What You Need To Know

  • The FBI is investigating whether a Pennsylvania woman stole a laptop or hard drive from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office during the Capitol riot and then planned to sell it to Russians

  • The startling allegation appears in an arrest warrant for Riley June Williams

  • A witness claiming to be a former "romantic parter" of Williams' told investigators the woman "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 says that it appears Williams has fled

The startling allegation appears in an arrest warrant, filed Sunday night in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, for Riley June Williams, whom the FBI is seeking on charges of entering a restricted building and disorderly conduct. 

The affidavit by an FBI agent says a witness claiming to be a former "romantic parter" of Williams’ told investigators that they were shown a video by Williams’ friends of her taking a laptop or hard drive from Pelosi’s office. 

The witness said that 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 said. “According to [the witness], the transfer of the computer device to Russia fell through for unknown reasons and WILLIAMS still has the computer device or destroyed it.”

The FBI said the matter remains under investigation.

The witness also pointed authorities to a YouTube clip from England-based ITV News that purportedly shows Williams directing rioters up a staircase toward Pelosi’s office

Pelosi (D-CA) confirmed in a “60 Minutes” interview that a laptop was stolen from her office. Drew Hammill, her deputy of chief of staff, tweeted that it was “only used for presentations.”

The affidavit says that it appears Williams has fled. Her mother told local law enforcement in Harrisburg, Pa., that Williams packed a bag, left home and said she would be gone for a couple of weeks. Williams did not say where she was going, and she has changed her phone number and deleted her social media accounts since Jan. 6, the FBI agent said.