Who is Riley Williams? Jan. 6 defendant who breached Pelosi’s office

After the attack on January 6, one of the oldest sagas came to an end with Jackson’s punishment. Williams was one of the first people charged with a criminal offence, and she was thought to have stolen Nancy Pelosi’s laptop at the time, in part because she informed her pals that she had.

Williams was found guilty in December of civil disorder and resisting police, but the jury couldn’t agree on whether or not he had interfered with Congress and helped facilitate the theft of Pelosi’s laptop. Williams was shown on camera encouraging other rioters to grab the laptop as she entered Pelosi’s conference room, but her attorneys argued that it was not apparent whether the other rioters heard her.

Jackson spent a significant portion of the sentencing discussion disproving the defense’s assertion that Williams was too young or too small to be accountable for the serious crimes the prosecution charged. Williams’ youth and the fact that she initially appeared uncertain about which building was being stormed—calling it the White House as she approached—were both utilised by the defence team to support their case. Jackson, however, claimed that Williams’ brief expression of bewilderment was resolved by her repeated acknowledgement of her purpose for being there.

That wasn’t, Jackson insisted, “because her fuzzy little skull couldn’t figure out which building was which in Washington.