Pa. woman accused of stealing Nancy Pelosi’s laptop during Jan. 6 riot wants off house arrest to visit Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire

A Mechanicsburg woman accused of stealing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s laptop during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol wants to be let out of house arrest to visit the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire this weekend, according to court documents.

Riley Williams, 25, filed the request in federal court to be permitted to visit the annual event in Manheim.

Williams has remained confined to house arrest since January 21, 2021, with exceptions only for work, school, health treatment, attorney visits and court obligations.

Her filing was the second this week. Earlier in the week, Judge Amy Jackson denied Williams’ request to transfer her trial out of Washington, D.C. back to central Pennsylvania. Williams had claimed that a Washington, D.C. jury would be unable to render an impartial verdict compared to a Harrisburg jury.

“The defendant appears to know little about the city or its people, and she relies on a flawed survey and mere assumptions and generalizations about the jury pool,” Jackson said.

Earlier this year, Jackson also denied Williams’ request to lift some conditions of her release, which included home detention and ankle monitoring. Williams was not fully compliant with the current terms of her release and is a flight risk, Jackson said.

Williams and her mother provided “untruthful” information to Williams’ probation officer, according to Jackson. Additionally, Williams’ parole officer spotted an iPad case and charging cord inside her car. Another individual told the FBI he video chatted with Williams, which was a violation of her conditions of release, according to Jackson.

Williams is accused of breaking into the United States Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021, and stealing Pelosi’s laptop before later disposing of it, according to court records.

She was arrested Jan. 18, and later indicted on the charges related to Pelosi’s laptop on Oct. 6.

The FBI investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection revealed video and photos of a woman that appears to be Williams encouraging people to go inside the Capitol during the riot and directing members of the mob once inside. Posts and video on social media apps, apparently made by Williams, also claimed that she stole Pelosi’s laptop.

Williams is accused of obstruction of an official proceeding; assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers; theft of government property; entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricting building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a capitol building; and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a capitol building.