A Pennsylvania woman facing charges that she helped steal a laptop from the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the attack on the U.S. Capitol has already been released from jail.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Martin Carlson directed that Riley June Williams be released into the custody of her mother, with travel restrictions.
“The gravity of these offenses is great,” Carlson told Williams. “It cannot be overstated.”
Williams, 22, of Harrisburg, is accused of theft, obstruction and trespassing, as well as violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
But if the “offense is great’ as the federal judge noted, why has Williams been released from jail?
The FBI says an unidentified former romantic partner of Williams tipped them off that she appeared in video from the Jan. 6 riot and the tipster claimed she had hoped to sell the computer to Russian intelligence.
Video from the riot shows a woman matching Williams’ description repeatedly encouraging invaders to go upstairs during the attack, which briefly disrupted certification of President Joe Biden’s electoral victory.
Williams surrendered to face charges. She will be on electronic monitoring to await trial.
In adding the theft-related charges, a Virginia-based FBI agent said Williams was recorded on closed-circuit cameras in the Capitol going into and coming out of Pelosi’s office.
The agent’s affidavit said a cellphone video that was likely shot by Williams shows a man’s gloved hand lifting an HP laptop from a table, and the caption read, “they got the laptop.”
The current location of the computer has not been disclosed in court documents.
Williams was among the mob that stormed the Capitol building on Jan. 6 in a violent insurrection aimed at overturning the results of the presidential election. Five people, including one Capitol Police officer, died. Many more were injured.
There are concerns that law enforcement will be lenient toward the mostly White rioters. Williams was released to the custody of her mother, pending trial. Eric Munchel, who allegedly showed up to the Capitol with plastic handcuffs ready to take Congress members hostage, was released on bond. But Emanuel Jackson, who breached the Capitol, will be held in prison until trial. Williams and Munchel are White. Jackson is Black.
The question is whether Williams and other insurrectionists will be held accountable for their actions or treated with leniency without any real punishment. To prevent a similar mob attack on the democratic process from ever happening again, law enforcement should prosecute the insurrectionists to the fullest extent of the law.
(Reprinted from the Philadelphia Tribune)
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