U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday (Jan. 8) that protesters stole laptops from the offices of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley, among others, during a Jan. 6 congressional riot.
Pelosi said the theft of the laptop from her office came after protesters stormed Capitol Hill and created much chaos in it.
Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, released video of his trashed office after the protesters’ raid, saying a laptop was missing from the conference table.
In the video, Merkley said he left the door unlocked because he would be in and out that night when Congress met to confirm Electoral College voting results. Although the door was open, the protesters “almost smashed the door off the hinges. He also showed his ransacked office, including Chinese paintings torn from the wall, a cigarette butt extinguished on the table and a “Trump 2020″ flag thrown in the corner.
In the video, Merkley said, “They stole the laptop from the phone table.”
Democratic Rep. Jim Clay told reporters Friday that one of her iPads went missing during the riot, CNN reported.
Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin of Washington, D.C., told reporters Thursday (Jan. 7) that the theft of numerous items from the Capitol on Jan. 6 raised “national security” concerns.
It will probably take a few days to figure out what happened, what was stolen and what wasn’t stolen,” he said, adding, “(Some) electronic facilities were stolen from senators’ offices. Documents, materials were stolen, and we had to determine what had been done and mitigate that.”
U.S. media quoted security and espionage experts as saying that multiple existing lawmakers’ laptops were stolen, which could have led to a leak of highly sensitive information.
On Jan. 6, protesters posted photos of people protesting in Pelosi’s office, and others left “We will not back down” notes in Pelosi’s office.
A CNN reporter reported Friday that Richard Barnett, the man photographed sitting at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk, has been arrested in Little Rock, Arkansas, and charged with three federal counts, including theft of public property.
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