The woman accused of stealing Nancy Pelosi’s laptop, who was released into her mother’s custody late last week, may have been urging others to destroy evidence while under house arrest, federal prosecutors allege.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, 22-year-old Riley Williams turned herself in last week after federal authorities announced they were seeking her in connection with the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6. Williams was initially taken into custody on charges of unlawful entry and disorderly conduct. She since been charged with theft, amid reports that she allegedly stole a laptop computer from Nancy Pelosi’s office–or helped another person steal it–with the intention of selling it to Russia.
A judge ordered Williams to be released into her mother’s custody in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on Friday, following Williams’ defense attorney’s argument that a key witness in the case against Williams is an allegedly abusive ex-boyfriend. Williams reportedly appeared as required for a hearing in Washington, D.C., on Monday, where federal prosecutors reportedly alleged that Williams had been using the internet during home confinement to urge unnamed individuals to destroy evidence in the case against her.
NBC 4 reporter Scott MacFarlane first reported the new allegations in a Twitter post:
!!! NEW: US Justice Dept tells judge Riley Williams, woman accused of stealing computer from Nancy Pelosi's office, is suspected of using internet in recent days, encouraging people to destroy evidence in Capitol insurrection case. They want judge to prohibit internet access pic.twitter.com/YwKKj0kdIe
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) January 25, 2021
According to the subsequent posts from the reporter, the Department of Justice is asking that Williams be prohibited from having internet access, indicating that this was not previously a requirement of her conditional release.
This is a developing story and all information is preliminary. CrimeOnline will provide further updates when more information is available.
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