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March 23 (UPI) -- A federal judge sentenced the Capitol rioter who led a mob to the office of Rep. Nancy Pelosi to three years in prison on Thursday. Riley Williams, who was convicted on six counts in November relating to storming the Capitol, was remanded after her sentence was handed down, NBC News reports. U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson said she had "no confidence whatsoever" in Williams' respect for the law, which is why she had her placed in custody immediately.
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Williams was convicted on two felony charges: interfering with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder and resisting or impeding law enforcement officers. She was also found guilty on four misdemeanor offenses.
According to court documents, Williams was seen on video "directing crowds" up a staircase to Rep. Pelosi's office on Jan. 6, 2021. Video also showed her taking Pelosi's laptop and hard drive. After the riot she posted on social media that she "stormed into the capitol building and stole nancy pelosi's hard drive and gavel." The jury remained deadlocked on whether or not to charge Williams for aiding and abetting the theft of the laptop.
Williams was represented by federal public defender Lori Ulrich in the case. Ulrich argued that Williams simply "wanted to be somebody," according to NBC News, painting the picture of a naive young girl. She was 22 at the time.
In a pre-sentencing hearing, Williams said she was a "young and stupid girl" who was "addicted to the Internet." She had allegedly become swept up in far-right message boards and was an avid follower of White supremacist political commentator Nick Fuentes.
The prosecution rejected the position that Williams was ignorant about the gravity of her actions and Jackson also disagreed, though Williams was not given the more than seven-year sentence the prosecution was seeking.
