(Trends Wide) — An Arkansas man who was photographed putting his feet up on a desk in the office of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the January 6, 2021 insurrection, was found guilty by a jury of eight counts. Washington city, this Monday.
Richard Barnett, 62, also known as “Bigo,” was charged with eight federal counts in connection with his actions inside the US Capitol that day, including entering and remaining in a restricted area with a deadly weapon or dangerous and obstructing an official proceeding.
Barnett will be sentenced in early May and will remain under house arrest with a GPS monitor on his ankle until then, despite the prosecution’s request to revoke this measure. He faces up to 20 years in prison on the main charge of obstruction of an official proceeding.
The jury deliberated for several hours before returning their verdict. When the forehand jury read out the guilty verdict, Barnett remained seated and showed no reaction.
Following the verdict, Barnett’s attorney, Joseph McBride, told reporters outside court that his client had not received a fair trial, stating that Washington “is not a state” and is made up primarily of “Biden voters “.
“We’re not saying there’s something inherently wrong with Washington or with the jurors,” McBride said. “We are saying that we believe that politics is the big elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about here and the political considerations around this trial have damaged the jury pool to the point that we cannot have a fair trial.”
Barnett was recorded on surveillance video entering Pelosi’s office on the afternoon of January 6, according to court documents. He was photographed with his boot resting on a desk and the flag hanging near him.
During the trial, Barnett testified that he was pushed into the Capitol during the riots and was looking for a place to go to the bathroom inside the building, admiring all the art along the way. Barnett was combative with prosecutors during his testimony, and they later accused him of lying and being “aggressive.”
“I wasn’t part of that protest, they pushed me in,” Barnett said during his testimony, describing himself as “hyperactive.”
According to court documents, Barnett was wearing an electric baton in his pants when he was inside Pelosi’s office. Barnett said during the trial that he believed it no longer worked because he had washed it in the shower.
On Jan. 6, Barnett was recorded saying he had not stolen an envelope he had taken from inside the Capitol, adding that he had written Pelosi a note calling her a “bitch,” according to court documents.
“I didn’t steal it,” Barnett said in the video. “I bled on it because they were tear gassing me and I couldn’t see, so I thought it was in her office. I bloodied her office. I put a quarter on her desk even though she ain’t worth it. And I left her a note on the table that said, ‘Nancy, Bigo was here, you bitch.
Barnett’s lawyers have also argued that Barnett wrote the word “biatch” in English, not “b***h” or “p***a,” which they said was “slang” and “less offensive.”
(Trends Wide) — An Arkansas man who was photographed putting his feet up on a desk in the office of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the January 6, 2021 insurrection, was found guilty by a jury of eight counts. Washington city, this Monday.
Richard Barnett, 62, also known as “Bigo,” was charged with eight federal counts in connection with his actions inside the US Capitol that day, including entering and remaining in a restricted area with a deadly weapon or dangerous and obstructing an official proceeding.
Barnett will be sentenced in early May and will remain under house arrest with a GPS monitor on his ankle until then, despite the prosecution’s request to revoke this measure. He faces up to 20 years in prison on the main charge of obstruction of an official proceeding.
The jury deliberated for several hours before returning their verdict. When the forehand jury read out the guilty verdict, Barnett remained seated and showed no reaction.
Following the verdict, Barnett’s attorney, Joseph McBride, told reporters outside court that his client had not received a fair trial, stating that Washington “is not a state” and is made up primarily of “Biden voters “.
“We’re not saying there’s something inherently wrong with Washington or with the jurors,” McBride said. “We are saying that we believe that politics is the big elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about here and the political considerations around this trial have damaged the jury pool to the point that we cannot have a fair trial.”
Barnett was recorded on surveillance video entering Pelosi’s office on the afternoon of January 6, according to court documents. He was photographed with his boot resting on a desk and the flag hanging near him.
During the trial, Barnett testified that he was pushed into the Capitol during the riots and was looking for a place to go to the bathroom inside the building, admiring all the art along the way. Barnett was combative with prosecutors during his testimony, and they later accused him of lying and being “aggressive.”
“I wasn’t part of that protest, they pushed me in,” Barnett said during his testimony, describing himself as “hyperactive.”
According to court documents, Barnett was wearing an electric baton in his pants when he was inside Pelosi’s office. Barnett said during the trial that he believed it no longer worked because he had washed it in the shower.
On Jan. 6, Barnett was recorded saying he had not stolen an envelope he had taken from inside the Capitol, adding that he had written Pelosi a note calling her a “bitch,” according to court documents.
“I didn’t steal it,” Barnett said in the video. “I bled on it because they were tear gassing me and I couldn’t see, so I thought it was in her office. I bloodied her office. I put a quarter on her desk even though she ain’t worth it. And I left her a note on the table that said, ‘Nancy, Bigo was here, you bitch.
Barnett’s lawyers have also argued that Barnett wrote the word “biatch” in English, not “b***h” or “p***a,” which they said was “slang” and “less offensive.”