The FBI has arrested an Arkansas man who was photographed sitting at a desk in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s workplace following the storming of the Capitol by a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters, authorities introduced.
Richard Barnett was arrested in Little Rock on Friday, in response to Ken Kohl, the highest deputy federal prosecutor in Washington.
Kohl mentioned Barnett was charged for getting into Pelosi’s workplace, the place he “left a note and removed some of the speaker’s mail”.
Barnett, 60, faces three federal costs: knowingly getting into or remaining in restricted grounds with out authority; violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds; and theft of public property or information. If convicted, he faces as much as a yr in federal jail.
He was being held within the Washington County Jail in Arkansas. Jail information didn’t record an legal professional for him.
Authorities say Barnett was amongst supporters of Trump who stormed the Capitol on Wednesday. Five individuals died due to the protest and violence, together with a Capitol police officer.
Authorities mentioned in courtroom paperwork that they have been in a position to establish Barnett partially by pictures taken by information media when he was contained in the constructing.
Authorities additionally used video surveillance from contained in the Capitol and a video interview Barnett gave to a New York Times reporter during which he mentioned, “I didn’t steal (an envelope)…. I put a quarter on her desk, even though she ain’t (expletive) worth it.”
Barnett is from Gravette in northwest Arkansas. He has recognized himself on social media as a Trump supporter and gun rights advocate.
Jim Parsons, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who served in Vietnam as a Green Beret, informed The Associated Press that he has been a visitor speaker at a few “patriotic gatherings” that Barnett additionally attended.
Barnett had an AR-15 rifle with him “to make sure things stay peaceful”, Parsons mentioned. He referred to as Barnett “a good guy. He’s patriotic.”
One of the teams that Barnett belongs to believes “a face mask is a dress rehearsal for what’s to come. It’ll end up with a chip in the forehead,” mentioned Parsons, who’s from Bella Vista, Arkansas.
Gravette Mayor Kurt Maddox mentioned the picture of Barnett in Pelosi’s workplace has introduced his small city unwelcome consideration and a few residents have obtained threats.