Jan. 6-related filing reveals U.S. Marine was jailed for plot to shoot up synagogue
Riley Williams, one of the accused Jan. 6 insurrectionists, appears outside the federal courthouse in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Jan. 26, 2021. (WGAL/YouTube)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — A filing in a case stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection revealed that a U.S. Marine in a relationship with one of the defendants served 19 months for a plot to shoot up a synagogue.
The revelation came in a filing by federal prosecutors arguing against a request by an alleged insurgent, Riley Williams, to loosen restrictions pending her trial.
Williams, who lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, lied about a meeting she had with the former Marine, the prosecutor’s filing said. Williams, who is under house arrest and wears an ankle monitor, is seeking less stringent restrictions, the Patriot-News reported over the weekend.
The June 10 filing by the U.S. Attorney does not name the Marine, who was given a bad-conduct discharge, or when or where he plotted to attack a synagogue. It says only that he “stole his roommates’ truck and attempted to purchase a firearm with the intent of committing a mass shooting at a synagogue.”
The man “was sentenced to 19 months in custody and was given a bad-conduct discharge from the U.S. Marines Corps.”
Williams, who is among the more prominent defendants because she allegedly stole U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s laptop, broke conditions of her release by having video meetings with the former Marine, “who is believed to be Williams’ then-boyfriend” and by meeting with him in person in August 2021, the filing said.
At that in-person meeting, the former Marine revealed to Williams “the circumstances of his prior arrest, prosecution, incarceration and discharge from the United States Marine Corps.”
Bellingcat, an investigative journalism website, was the first to identify Williams shortly after the insurrection. To do so, the group used a video that showed a woman with a hat emblazoned with occult Nazi symbology dancing until a narrator says “Heil Hitler,” at which point she gives the Nazi salute.
A congressional committee investigating the insurrection last week launched public hearings and focused particularly on the role of far-right groups in its organization.
This article originally appeared on JTA.org.
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