An Arkansas man who participated in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has been convicted on all counts this Monday by a jury, NBC News reports.
Richard Barnett, who’s famously seen in a photo putting his feet up on Nancy Pelosi’s desk, faced a total of eight charges, including theft of government property. Barnett said he regretted his actions but claimed he didn’t do anything illegal.
“This is not a jury of my peers. I don’t agree with the decision, but I do appreciate the process and we are surely going to appeal,” he told reporters after the verdict.
Found guilty on eight counts, Richard Barnett enjoyed fucking around a lot more than finding out. pic.twitter.com/uuboLgqtPn
— Middle Age Riot (@middleageriot) January 23, 2023
From NBC News:
Barnett became a widely known symbol of the riot when he was photographed reclining in a chair in the speaker’s office, with his feet propped up, and what the government referred to as a “stun device” tucked in his pants. Before leaving Pelosi’s office, Barnett took an envelope that he later displayed for cameras outside the Capitol.
In court Friday, before the case was handed to the jury, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Gordon pored over Barnett’s version of Jan. 6 and poked holes in his testimony, visibly angering Barnett.
Barnett, who a day earlier had said he would apologize to Pelosi, D-Calif., if she were in court, admitted during cross-examination that when a police officer told him he needed to leave her office he replied: “You need to give up communism.”
Barnett is scheduled to be sentenced on May 3.
Read the full report over at NBC News.
