US prosecutors said that a Pennsylvania woman connected to the far-right ‘Groyper’ extremist movement was a part of the group who rushed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office on January 6, 2021, during the attack on the US Capitol. She was found guilty of several federal offences on Monday.

Six federal counts, including inciting civil disorder, were determined to be true in Riley June Williams’ case. Two other accusations, including “aiding and abetting the theft” of a laptop that was taken from Pelosi’s office suite during the uprising, were not resolved by the jury, though. Additionally, the jury was unable to agree on whether Williams impeded an official investigation.

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Williams joined a mob’s attack on the Capitol after attending the “Stop the Steal” rally, where then-President Donald Trump addressed thousands of supporters earlier that day. Entering Pelosi’s office, she found a laptop on a table and told another rioter, “Dude, put on gloves,” before someone with a black gloved hand removed the computer, according to prosecutors.

Williams later bragged online that she stole Pelosi’s gavel, laptop and hard drives and that she “gave the electronic devices, or attempted to give them, to unspecified Russian individuals,” prosecutors said in a June 2022 court filing.

“To date, neither the laptop nor the gavel has been recovered,” they added.

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Williams planned to deliver the stolen laptop or hard drive to a friend in Russia who would then sell it to Russia’s foreign intelligence service, according to a witness who was reportedly a previous love companion of Williams’. According to an affidavit of an FBI agent, however, the witness claimed that Williams kept the device or destroyed it when the transfer was unsuccessful.

Less than two weeks after the violence, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania resident Williams was detained. For certifying the Electoral College vote, she was accused of stealing government property, assaulting police, and interfering with a joint session of Congress. Williams was also accused of petty offences like rowdy or disruptive behaviour.

When questioned by the FBI, Williams vehemently denied taking the laptop. Prosecutors stated she claimed that her ex-boyfriend “made up” the accusation.

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Before she left the Capitol, Williams joined other rioters in pushing against police officers trying to clear the building’s Rotunda. Police body camera captured the confrontation, as Williams encouraged other rioters to “keep pushing,” and “push, push, push.”

Williams was wearing a shirt bearing the message, “I’m with groyper,” when she entered the Capitol. The term “groyper” refers to followers of “America First” movement leader Nick Fuentes, who has used his online platform to spew antisemitic and white supremacist rhetoric.

Christian Secor, 24, of Costa Mesa, California, a former UCLA student, and other followers of Fuentes has been charged with offences relating to the 6th of January. Secor, who approached the Capitol with an “America First” flag in his hand, was given a three-year, six-month prison term last month.

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Williams’ online footprint also included material associated with “accelerationism,” a violent ideology that asserts “Western governments are corrupt and unsalvageable, and therefore the best thing a person can do is accelerate their collapse by sowing social chaos and generating political conflict,” prosecutors said.

Williams participated in at least two protests against the presidential election’s results in December 2020. Fuentes delivered addresses at both events.

“Her admiration of Nick Fuentes, self-identification as a ‘Groyper,’ belief in Accelerationism, and support for violence all circumstantially show the mixed motives behind her actions on January 6: she not only specifically sought to block Congress from certifying the Electoral College vote, but also to undermine and obstruct the government more generally,” prosecutors wrote.

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Before her trial, Williams’ attorneys questioned the relevance of her political activities and ideology.

“There is no evidence linking her beliefs and actions prior to January 6 with her actions that day,” they wrote. “There is a legitimate risk that jurors will judge Ms. Williams merely for the unpopular and extreme ideologies she has embraced in the past, rather than for the actual crimes with which she is charged.”