Man who put his feet on Nancy Pelosi’s desk during U.S. Capitol riot testifies

An Arkansas man testified Thursday that he “slowed down” as he stood at a desk in the office of former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, taking a photo that made him one of the most memorable figures from the two US Capitol riots. last year.

In witness testimony in court on charges related to the riot, Richard “Bigo” Barnett said he was looking for a bathroom at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, when he accidentally walked into Pelosi’s office and encountered two news photographers. She said one of the photographers told her to “act natural,” so she sat down in a chair and put her feet up on the table.

“Do you realize that what you’re doing could cause problems?” defense attorney Joseph McBride asked Barnett.

“I’m just in the moment,” Barnett replied. “I’m just going with the flow at this point.”

Barnett, a retired firefighter from Gravette, Ark., is one of more than 900 people charged with federal crimes for actions at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Nearly 500 people have pleaded guilty. Barnett was one of dozens of Capitol riot defendants whose cases went to trial.

‘I’m taking Nancy Pelosi’s office!’

Barnett, 62, had a stun gun tucked into his pants when he stormed the U.S. Capitol, stormed Pelosi’s office and took a photo that became one of the most famous images of the attack, prosecutors said. He also took a piece of her mail and left behind a note that said, “Nancy, Bigo is here,” the prosecutor said. Barnett captioned the message with sexist remarks.

Before leaving the Capitol, Barnett used a bullhorn to address the crowd, shouting, “We’re taking our house, and I’m taking Nancy Pelosi’s office!” according to prosecutors.

Barnett, testifying at the end of the trial, said he regretted coming to Washington for the “Stop the Steal” rally where President Donald Trump later addressed a crowd of supporters.

“Two years of lost life. Suffering for my family,” he said.

He also expressed regret for using vulgar language in his note to Pelosi.

“I probably shouldn’t have put my feet up on the table,” Barnett said.

A grand jury indicted Barnett on eight charges, including felony counts of civil disorder and obstruction of official process. He also faces a charge of entering and remaining in a restricted building or premises with a deadly or dangerous weapon – a stun gun with a spike hidden in a retractable stick.

Burnett says he’s ‘out of crisis mode’

In his opening statement for the trial, prosecutors said Tuesday that Barnett planned the trip for weeks and came prepared for violence.

“The defendant violated that space,” prosecutor Alison Prout said.

McBride told jurors Friday that Barnett was just a “crazy guy from Arkansas” who didn’t hurt anyone on Jan. 6 and couldn’t hurt anyone with a stun gun because it was broken that day.

“We’re not asking you to condone his actions,” McBride said, calling it “the most famous abuse case of all time.”

Barnett said many of the Trump supporters who came out of the rally were in a happy mood as they approached the Capitol. He said he became angry after hearing loud noises and seeing what appeared to be police officers firing tear gas into the crowd.

“It turned my world upside down,” Barnett said, calling it his first experience of police brutality after years as a firefighter. “I went in full crisis mode.”

Barnett said video showed the crowd pushing him into the Capitol as he approached the entrance, causing him to fall to his knees as he crossed the threshold.

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

Barnett said he didn’t realize he had wandered into Pelosi’s office until one of the photographers asked him if he knew where he was and he found an empty envelope with Pelosi’s name on it.

After police ordered him and others to leave Pelosi’s office, Barnett realized they had left the American flag behind. Body camera video captured Barnett yelling at a police officer in the Rotunda for help to retrieve the flag.

Prosecutors said Barnett had a history of arming himself at political demonstrations before the January 6 attack. In July 2020, he said, a 911 caller reported that someone matching Barnett’s description had pointed a gun at him during a “Back the Blue” rally.

“Law enforcement ultimately closed the investigation as unfounded due to unresolved discrepancies in 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 a protest and acting suspiciously.