US Capitol rioter who was pictured together with his ft on Nancy Pelosi’s desk is jailed

A Capitol Hill rioter who was photographed together with his ft on Democrat Nancy Pelosi’s desk has been sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail.

Richard “Bigo” Barnett grew to become one of many faces of the riot on 6 January, 2021.

Barnett was convicted at trial on eight counts, together with felony costs of civil dysfunction and obstruction of an official continuing – a session of Congress to certify Joe Biden‘s victory over Mr Trump within the 2020 presidential election.

Ms Pelosi, who was speaker of the House of Representatives on the time, was compelled to flee the chamber as protesters – supporters of then president Donald Trump – stormed the constructing.

It was established throughout proceedings that Barnett introduced a stun gun with spikes into the Capitol, hid inside a collapsible strolling stick.

He additionally took a chunk of Ms Pelosi’s mail and left behind a be aware that mentioned, “Nancy, Bigo was here”, punctuating the message with a sexist expletive.

Before leaving Capitol grounds, Barnett used a bullhorn to present a speech to the gang, shouting – “We took back our house, and I took Nancy Pelosi’s office!” – based on prosecutors.

Prosecutors additionally mentioned Barnett has since posted “falsehoods” on social media concerning the occasions, and downplayed his position.

“The defendant still believes he can say or do whatever he wants and if someone else is threatened by it, that’s their problem,” prosecutor Alison Prout mentioned.

Barnett testified at trial that he was swept together with the gang into the Capitol, and was in search of a toilet when he unwittingly entered Ms Pelosi’s workplace and encountered two news photographers.

He mentioned he was “going with the flow” and struck a pose after the photographers advised him to “act natural”.

Barnett advised the decide that becoming a member of the riot was “an enigma in my life” that he regretted, however mentioned prosecutors needed him to be “remorseful for things I did not do”.

“January 6 was a traumatic day for everyone, not just law enforcement,” he mentioned.

The 63-year-old from Gravette, Arkansas, has vowed to enchantment his conviction.

Defence lawyer Jonathan Gross mentioned Barnett didn’t harm anybody or injury property, and was being singled out as a result of the picture had made him well-known.

“Mr Barnett should not be punished because the government thinks he’s a symbol,” he mentioned.

Read extra:
Former Proud Boys leader convicted of plot to attack Capitol
Mike Pence ‘gives evidence for seven hours’ about riots

Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts

The decide, nevertheless, mentioned he didn’t consider Barnett performed such a passive position.

Sentencing the retired firefighter on Wednesday, US District Judge Christopher Cooper mentioned Barnett appeared at instances to benefit from the notoriety.

“All the folks who follow ‘Bigo’ need to know the actions of January 6 cannot be repeated without some serious repercussions,” he mentioned.

More than 1,000 individuals have been charged with federal crimes associated to the Capitol riot.

Just over 500 of them have been sentenced, and greater than half have acquired jail phrases starting from per week to over 14 years.