Judge takes swipe at woman who stole Pelosi's laptop, says 'constitution prevails today'

The Pennsylvania woman, Riley June Williams who was charged for helping steal a laptop from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office during the US Capitol attack, will be released from the jail, a federal judge ordered on January 21. Following the US Capitol siege of January 6, United States Magistrate Judge Martin Carlson has directed Williams to remain in the custody of her mother, with travel restrictions and is instructed to appear on January 25 in federal court in Washington to continue her case. Carlson reportedly also noted that the “gravity of these offences is great” and that “it cannot be overstated”.

Further, as per the Washington Post report, before Williams was brought back to the Dauphin County Prison to be processed for the release, the US federal judge gave a striking speech about the allegations that the 22-year-old tried to interfere with Congress’s constitutional obligation to certify the votes of the electoral college. 

Carlson also alleged that Williams’ actions “antithetical to these constitutional values”, and noted that she would be released from the detention centre because her public defender and the assistant US attorney on the case fulfilled their constitutional obligation to pursue justice. The 22-year-old from Harrisburg is accused of theft, obstruction and trespassing along with violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. Carlson also acknowledged that Williams has no prior criminal record.

Carlson was quoted by media outlet saying, “Your freedom, conditioned as it is by the orders that I have entered, is the result of the prevailing of the Constitution...The Constitution prevails here today. And the Constitution will always prevail in this country.”

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Williams 'planned to sell it to Russia'

US Federal authorities on January 18 alleged that Williams who stole House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s laptop wanted to sell it to Russia. The FBI was looking for the accused woman whose partner told authorities that she stole the device from the congressional office of the House speaker during the riots at the US Capitol earlier this month. The agency has opened a probe into allegations made by her former romantic partner that Williams was going to sell the laptop to a Russian intelligence agency, particularly SVR, Russia’s foreign intelligence service. 

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Image credits: The Associated Press