Rioter pictured with a foot on a desk in Pelosi’s office gets 4.5 years
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The Jan. 6 rioter who was photographed with his foot propped on a desk inside then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office and then tried to raise money off the images was sentenced to 4 ½ years in prison Wednesday. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight The photograph of Richard “Bigo” Barnett in the California Democrat’s suite of offices became one of the defining images of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. Soon after his arrest, Barnett offered autographed photos of the scene for $100, prosecutors said. And when FBI agents came to interview him, he put his feet up on a table again, commenting, “Does this look familiar?”
Barnett maintained his defiance through his trial earlier this year, in which he lied about the circumstances of the photo and many of his actions in the Capitol. In social media posts as recently as last week, he criticized federal prosecutors as “demonically possessed cretans [sic]” and called police who were at the Capitol that day thugs.
A jury in federal court convicted Barnett in January of four felonies, including obstruction of an official proceeding, and four misdemeanors. Barnett carried a walking stick with a 950,000-volt stun device into the Capitol along with a 10-pound metal flagpole and menaced police with them, prosecutors said, but did not assault any officers. Prosecutors requested a sentence of more than seven years in prison for Barnett.
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Barnett, 63, is a retired firefighter and former bull rider from Gravette, Ark. Prosecutors said he prepared for his trip to Washington for weeks, posting sentiments about his planned visit such as “I ain’t going down easy, [I’ll do] Whatever it takes. Whatever it takes.” He also shared a digital flier that promoted “Operation Occupy the Capitol” and was subtitled “Taking back our country from corrupt politicians.”
A week before Jan. 6, Barnett also purchased the 950,000-volt ZAP Hike ‘n Strike Hiking Staff, a stun device concealed in a walking stick, investigators found. On Jan. 4, 2021, soon after Barnett arrived in Washington, D.C., he began bragging about urinating on fire hydrants in the city to “mark our territory,” prosecutors said. During the evening of Jan. 5, Barnett demonstrated the Hike ‘n Strike’s electric shock capabilities in his hotel bar, leading to the bar being shut down, according to court records.
The next day, Jan. 6, Barnett attended the “Stop the Steal” rally headlined by then-president Donald Trump, then walked to the Capitol, filming himself pursuing and harassing a group of police officers, prosecutors said. Barnett entered through the east side and later claimed that he was forced in by the mob there. Prosecutors noted that video showed Barnett maneuvered his way into the center of the crowd, made no attempt to leave the throng of people, and “when the opportunity presented itself, he entered the Capitol,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alison B. Prout and Michael M. Gordon wrote.
Barnett soon found his way to Pelosi’s suite and sat down behind a staff member’s desk, apparently thinking it was Pelosi’s. He found an empty envelope bearing Pelosi’s digital signature and stole it, leading to a conviction for misdemeanor theft of government property. Barnett said he left a quarter behind, thereby mitigating the theft.
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Barnett testified that he put his boot on the desk after two photographers told him to “sit down and act natural” as they took the photo.. The photographers, from Agence France-Presse and the European Pressphoto Agency, both told The Post that was false. Neither was asked to testify.
Then Barnett decided to leave a note for Pelosi, writing, “Nancy, Bigo was here, you biotch.” At trial, Barnett expressed some regret over his actions in the office.
“I probably shouldn’t have put my feet on the desk,” Barnett testified. “And my language … I’m a Christian. It just wasn’t good. It wasn’t who I am.” He told the jury he would apologize to Pelosi in person if he could.
Barnett left Pelosi’s offices when Capitol Police arrived, but he soon realized he had forgotten his flagpole. He tried to go back for it but wound up in a faceoff with D.C. Police Officer Terrence Craig, who testified that Barnett flashed his stun device at him and then motioned for more rioters to overwhelm the police line.
Barnett left the Capitol about 30 minutes after entering. He then joined the crowd outside, where he proudly displayed the envelope he had taken from Pelosi’s office and encouraged others to go inside the building, prosecutors said.
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Source: The Washington Post
