Pelosi Laptop Thief Riley June Williams Released, But Speaker's Computer Remains Missing

Riley June Williams, suspected of plotting to hand a laptop belonging to House Speaker Pelosi to Russian intelligence, was released with an electronic monitor ahead of a court appearance Monday. However, nobody seems to know the location of the computer.

Magistrate Judge Martin Carlson at a federal court in Pennsylvania released the 22-year-old Williams to the custody of her mother, where she’ll have limited travel options and have to wear an electronic monitor to track her location. Williams is expected Monday in a federal court in Washington D.C. to continue the case.

Williams faces a wide range of charges for her role in the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6. An affidavit from an FBI special agent from Virginia places Williams at several locations inside the building, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office, where she’s suspected of stealing a laptop.

Court documents of the Thursday ruling from the Associated Press show no mention of the computer or its location. The FBI affidavit notes that Williams either still has the laptop or destroyed it.

The affidavit makes detailed note of Williams’ movements throughout the Capitol building. Video evidence shows her yelling “Upstairs, upstairs, upstairs,” and directing a mob to a staircase leading to Pelosi’s office.

There, closed-circuit television appears to show Williams and another person taking a laptop that Pelosi’s office said was used only for presentation purposes. A witness, believed to be a romantic partner, told authorities that Williams meant to sell the laptop to Russian intelligence officials, but those plans fell through for unknown reasons.

“The gravity of these offenses is great,” Judge Carlson told Williams on Thursday. “It cannot be overstated.”

Williams initially fled. According to the affidavit, her own mother contacted law enforcement in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and told them that Williams packed her bag and said she would be gone for several weeks.

Williams turned herself in earlier this week.