Richard Barnett Convicted of Walking into Pelosi’s Office Desk on Jan. 6

Washington — An Arkansas man photographed resting his feet on a desk in the Oval Office of the House Speaker during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, months after being convicted of multiple felonies Judgment is expected to be handed down on Wednesday.

Richard “Viggo” Burnett is scheduled to appear before Judge Christopher Cooper of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia this afternoon. The photograph of Barnett at his desk in then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office has become one of the most haunting photos of January 6th.

Prosecutors asked the judge to sentence him to more than seven years in prison for admitting to wielding a stun gun and entering the Capitol with the American flag.

“Mr. Barnett traveled to Washington, D.C. on January 6 with the intent to disrupt Congress, anticipating and preparing for violence,” the government said in its sentencing memorandum. Prosecutors do not claim he committed physical violence that day.

Earlier this year, a jury found Barnett guilty of eight counts, including civil disorder, obstruction of justice and theft of government property. His defense team argued that prosecutors had gone too far in raising some of the most serious charges and that jurors in Washington, D.C. were biased against him, and on January 6 his He repeated the allegations made by many defendants before.

In court and court documents, prosecutors said the 63-year-old former firefighter and bull rider was preparing to head to Washington ahead of Jan. 6 to keep President Donald Trump in power. said. On the day of the riot, he allegedly entered the Capitol after yelling at police outside the building. Once inside, Barnett stole an envelope, sat behind a desk in Pelosi’s office, and scribbled on a piece of paper, “Hey Nancy, Vigo was here you bastard,” according to the government.

The government announced that Mr Barnett had been kicked out of the Capitol after Mr Barnett yelled at police and was chemically sprayed in the rotunda. Prosecutors allege that when Barnett walked out, he “bragged” about having entered the chairman’s office and encouraged other rioters, saying, “This is war.”

Barnett defended himself at trial and was subjected to lengthy and sometimes intense cross-examination. He admitted that he regretted using her vulgar and misogynistic language about Pelosi and stepping on her desk. He testified on January 6 that he was a “fucking idiot,” but he insisted his actions were not criminal.

During sentencing, prosecutors argued that much of the defendant’s testimony on the witness stand was not true. Since his trial in January, he has “demonstrated a lack of remorse and a refusal to take responsibility for his actions,” they said.

Barnett’s attorneys argued that the government “had no evidence that Mr. Burnett perjured, and the jury did in fact convict Mr. Burnett of perjury.”

Prosecutors say Barnett even sold a signed copy of a photo of him sitting with his feet on a desk after participating in the riots, calling it the ‘new face of the anti-federalist movement’. It was characterized as

His lawyers argued that the government’s long-term punishment was unjust.

“The worst charges against Mr. Barnett were 20 minutes of non-violence inside the Capitol, the theft of an envelope, and literally seconds of an altercation with a police officer,” the lawyers wrote, noting that Mr. Barnett was stunned in self-defense. to Washington. .

“Mr Barnett never called for violence. No, not on January 6th and never will be.” lawyer wrote.