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The man who put his feet on Pelosi’s desk, guilty in the January 6 case

WASHINGTON (AP) — An Arkansas man who propped his feet up on a desk in then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office during a riot at the U.S. Capitol was convicted Monday of joining an attack by the mob on the back building by two years.

A jury unanimously convicted Richard “Bigo” Barnett on all eight counts, including misdemeanor counts of civil disorder and obstruction of official proceedings.

Barnett, who sits at a desk in Pelosi’s office, made him one of the most memorable figures in the turmoil of Jan. 6, 2021, the day Congress convened a joint session to certify President Joe Biden’s election victory.

He is expected to be sentenced in May. Prosecutors tried to jail Barnett pending sentencing, but the judge rejected that request, so Barnett will remain free under certain conditions.

Barnett, 62, testified Thursday that he was looking for a bathroom inside the Capitol when he accidentally walked into Pelosi’s office and encountered two news photographers. He said one of the photographers told him to “act natural”, so he leaned back in a chair and put his feet up on the desk.

“Did you realize that what you were doing could cause some problems?” defense attorney Joseph McBride asked Barnett.

“I was right at this point,” Barnett replied. “Right now, I’m just going with the flow.”

Prosecutors said Barnett had a stun gun tucked into his pants when he stormed the Capitol and invaded Pelosi’s office. She took a piece of the email and left a note that read, “Nancy, Bigo was here,” punctuating the message with a sexist slur.

Before leaving the Capitol grounds, Barnett used a megaphone to address the crowd, shouting, “We’re going home and we’re taking back Nancy Pelosi’s office!” according to prosecutors.

The videos support Barnett’s testimony that a crowd pushed him into the Capitol as he approached an entrance, briefly knocking him to his knees as he crossed the threshold.

“We have no choice!” he shouted repeatedly as he entered the Capitol.

After police ordered him and others out of Pelosi’s office, Barnett realized he had left his American flag behind. Body camera video captured Barnett yelling at a Rotunda police officer for help retrieving the flag.

More than 940 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Jan. 6 attack. Nearly 500 of them pleaded guilty. Barnett is one of several dozen Chapter defendants whose cases are set to go to trial.

A grand jury indicted Barnett on eight charges, including misdemeanor civil disorder and obstruction of official proceedings. He is also charged with entering and remaining in a restricted building or space with a deadly or dangerous weapon: a stun gun with spikes concealed in a collapsible walking stick.

Barnett, 62, is a retired firefighter from Gravette, Arkansas. He said he regretted coming to Washington for the “Stop the Steal” rally, where then-President Donald Trump addressed a crowd of supporters.

“Two years of wasted life. Misery for my family,” he said.

A prosecutor told jurors in opening statements that Barnett had planned the trip for weeks and arrived prepared for violence.

McBride told jurors that Barnett was just a “crazy guy from Arkansas” who didn’t hurt anyone on Jan. 6 and couldn’t have hurt anyone with the stun gun because it was broken that day. McBride sarcastically called it “the most famous infringement case of all time”.

Prosecutors said Barnett had a history of arming himself at political rallies. In July 2020, they said, a 911 caller reported that a man matching Barnett’s description fired a rifle at her during a “Back the Blue” rally.

“Law enforcement ultimately dismissed the investigation as unfounded due to apparently unresolved discrepancies in the evidence,” prosecutors wrote.

In November 2020, police were called to a Save the Children rally when a caller said Barnett was carrying a gun during the protest and acting suspiciously.

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