The man photographed with his feet on a table in the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi after joining the mob that invaded the United States Capitol in January 2021 was convicted Monday of several crimes.
On that day, Richard Barnett, 62, reclined comfortably in a chair and put his boots on the table in the powerful politician’s office, while an AFP photographer captured the moment.
Barnett joined supporters of then-President Donald Trump in storming the Capitol offices and hallways to shut down the legislature meeting to certify Joe Biden as the next president.
A Washington court convicted Barnett on eight counts, including obstructing congressional certification of the election, illegally entering the Capitol and disorderly conduct with a dangerous weapon, the last of which refers to an electric stun gun disguised as a cane.
The offender faces up to 20 years in prison for the most serious charge, obstructing official government proceedings.
Barnett, who has been described in court as a supporter of the QAnon conspiracy theory, a global liberal conspiracy to kidnap children, defended his actions as an exercise of his constitutional right to protest.
However, while in Pelosi’s office, he wrote a rude message to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and took an envelope signed by Pelosi.
“I put a quarter on her desk, even though she wasn’t worth it,” he said, according to a court record. “And I left a note on her desk that said ‘Nancy, Bigo was here, bitch,'” he said.
Source: DN
