Richard Barnett, the January 6, 2021 rioter who was famously photographed with his feet up on the desk of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), has been convicted on all counts levied against him.
Barnett has been found guilty of felony obstruction, civil disorder, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon after he walked the halls of Congress with a 950,000-volt stun-gun walking staff, and theft of government property—he took an envelope from Pelosi’s desk, leaving a quarter in exchange.
He also left Pelosi a note in which he referred to himself by his nickname, according to images provided by federal prosecutors. It read, “Hey Nancy, Bigo was here you biatch.”
During cross-examination Thursday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Gordon had asked Barnett whether he regretted anything about his participation in the January 6 insurrection and attempt to disrupt the certification of the 2020 Presidential election.
“I regret the disrespect I showed to the officers,” he said. “I regret that the whole thing happened.”
But Barnett did defend himself by saying of the jury, “I hope they see I didn’t break the law and acted like a f—ing idiot.”
He also denied that he’d had any knowledge at the time about the electoral vote counting process that was taking place that day in Congress.
According to testimony during his trial, when he met with FBI agents in Arkansas after turning himself in to authorities two days after the riot, he propped his feet on the desk in front of them and said, “Does this look familiar?”
After the trial, Barnett spoke with reporters. He said he “absolutely” did “not” receive a fair trial, adding, “This is not a jury of my peers. I do not agree with the decision but I do appreciate the process. And we are surely gonna appeal. And I’ll see you guys again on May 3rd.”
Nearly 1,000 people have been charged so far in the January 6 insurrection, a tally that increases by the week. Almost 500 people have pleaded guilty to riot-related charges and more than three dozen have been convicted at trial.
