Capitol rioter allegedly planned to sell laptop from Pelosi’s office to Russia
- by Nick Cohen
- in Industry
- — Jan 20, 2021
It's unclear what if any computer hardware Williams actually took from Pelosi's office, nor what happened to any equipment that she did manage to smuggle out of the Capitol.
In the days following the attack - in which rioters ransacked the speaker's office and ripped a name plate from above her door - Drew Hammill, Pelosi's chief of staff, confirmed in a tweet that a laptop "only used for presentations" had been taken from a conference room in the speaker's office.
An FBI affidavit reports that Williams has "fled", Politico adds: "A Pelosi aide was not immediately available for comment".
The FBI said in an arrest warrant Sunday that Williams hasn't been charged with theft but with illegally entering the Capitol and disorderly conduct.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, it appears Ms Williams has fled an address near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, that she shared with her mother, deactivated her phone number, and took down social media accounts. W1 claimed to have reviewed video of Williams stealing the laptop, which would track given all of the idiots seen giddily livestreaming and snapping selfies during the insurgency.
The affidavit goes on to give details of an ITV News report from inside the Capitol building at the time of the siege, in which a woman identified as Ms Williams can be seen and heard directing the crowd to go up a staircase that leads to Ms Pelosi's office.
However, the witness allegedly told investigators the transfer of the device to Russian Federation "fell through for unknown reasons", and Williams was either still in possession of it or had destroyed it.
One reason may be that Williams didn't nab the goldmine of top-secret intel that she likely thought she did. The FBI said the person in question "was assumed to be W1". WILLIAMS did not provide her mother any information about her intended destination'.
Williams' father told investigators he and his daughter drove to the Capitol together for the protest, but did not stay together, according to court papers.
In an interview cited by authorities, Williams' mother told British channel ITV the defendant had recently taken what the outlet paraphrased as a sudden interest in Trump's politics, and far-right message boards.
Numerous other demonstrators were pictured ransacking the office of Pelosi across January 6. The complaint notes that sometime after January 6, Williams also changed her phone number and deleted her social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, Telegram, and Parler.
Five people - including a Capitol police officer - were killed in the riots.
It's one of the more freaky details to emerge in the avalanche of court filings against people accused of storming the Capitol.
