Man pictured at Pelosi’s desk arrested
LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS: The FBI on Friday arrested an Arkansas man who was photographed sitting at a desk in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office following the storming of the Capitol by a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters, authorities announced.
Richard Barnett turned himself in to FBI agents at the Benton County Sheriff’s Office in Bentonville, Arkansas, said FBI Little Rock spokesman Connor Hagan.
Barnett is jailed in the Washington County Detention Center in nearby Fayetteville, Arkansas, without bond pending an initial court appearance, Hagan said. No attorney is listed for Barnett in online jail records.
Ken Kohl, the top deputy federal prosecutor in Washington, said Barnett was charged for entering Pelosi’s office, where he “left a note and removed some of the speaker’s mail.” Barnett, 60, faces three federal charges: knowingly entering or remaining in restricted grounds without authority; violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds; and theft of public property or records. If convicted, he faces up to a year in federal prison.
Authorities say Barnett was among supporters of Trump who stormed the Capitol on Wednesday. Five people died because of the protest and violence, including a Capitol police officer.
Authorities said in court documents that they were able to identify Barnett in part through photographs taken by news media when he was inside the building. Authorities also used video surveillance from inside the Capitol and a video interview Barnett gave to a New York
Times reporter in which he said, “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 identified himself on social media as a Trump supporter and gun rights advocate.
Laptop stolen from Pelosi’s office: Aide
A laptop was stolen from the office of Pelosi during the storming of the Capitol on Wednesday, one of her aides said on Friday. Drew Hammill, an aide to Democrat Pelosi, said on Twitter that the laptop belonged to a conference room and was used for presentations. He declined to offer further details.
The theft of electronic devices from congressional offices at the US Capitol building has been a persistent worry following the invasion by pro-trump followers.