A Pennsylvania woman was convicted Monday of multiple federal charges, including being part of a group that broke into the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the attack on the United States Capitol.
Riley June Williams, linked to the far-right “Groyper” movement, was found guilty of six federal charges, including civil disorder.
The jury deadlocked on two other counts, including “aiding and abetting the theft” of a laptop computer, which was taken from Pelosi’s office during the Jan. 6, 2021 storming of the Capitol.
Jurors were also unable to reach a unanimous verdict on whether Williams obstructed an official proceeding.
Williams joined the storming of the Capitol after participating in the “Stop the Steal” rally. [Parem com o roubo, em português]where the then US president, Republican Donald Trump, addressed thousands of supporters that day, encouraging them to interrupt the process of certifying the electoral victory of Democrat Joe Biden.
Walking into Pelosi’s office, this woman found a laptop on a table and told another protester, “Put some gloves on.” The computer was later taken by someone wearing black gloves, according to the indictment.
Williams later bragged on social media that he stole the speaker’s hammer, laptop and hard drives, adding that he “gave or attempted to deliver the electronic devices to unspecified Russian individuals,” according to prosecutors.
“So far neither the laptop nor the hammer has been recovered,” they added.
A witness, described as a former boyfriend of Williams, told the FBI that Williams intended to send the computer or hard drive to a friend in Russia, who planned to sell it to the Russian foreign intelligence service.
The same witness explained that Williams either kept the device or destroyed it after the shipment failed, according to testimony from an FBI agent.
Riley June Williams denied stealing the computer when questioned by the FBI, claiming that her ex-boyfriend had fabricated that charge.
Before leaving the Capitol, Williams joined other protesters who pressed police who were trying to disperse people in the building. An officer’s body camera captured the moment the woman encouraged other protesters to “keep pushing” the police.
That day, Williams was wearing a T-shirt reading “I’m with groyper,” a term referring to supporters of “America First” frontman Nick Fuentes, who used his online platform to spread anti-Semitic and white supremacist rhetoric.
Other Fuentes supporters have been charged with crimes related to the January 6, 2021 invasion, including 24-year-old UCLA alumnus Christian Secor of Costa Mesa, California. Secor, who was waving an “America First” flag as he entered the Capitol, was sentenced last month to three years and six months in prison.
Source: TSF
