Capitol Hill Rioter Pictured With Pelosi's Podium Sentenced To Prison

A rioter who took part in the insurrection at the US Capitol has been sentenced to prison after being pictured carrying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's podium. 

Stay-at-home dad Adam Johnson was one of the hundreds of rioters who stormed the Capitol building on January 6, 2021, in protest of Joe Biden's presidential win, after which a photograph of him smiling and waving as he held Pelosi's podium began to circulate online.

As a result of his participation he became one of nearly 800 people who have been arrested in connection with the events before being sentenced today, February 25.

Speaking at the sentencing, US District Court Judge Reggie B. Walton said 'a message has to be sent' as he accused Johnson of making a 'mockery' of the events by grabbing Pelosi's lectern, and said he could not overlook Johnson's behaviour which, in his opinion, was deserving of a period of incarceration.

Walton compared the January 6 events to something you'd expect to 'see in banana republics' as he said, 'We're on a dangerous slide in America. That’s what we see in countries, like what we’re experiencing now in Ukraine. That’s where we’re headed if we don’t do anything to stop it.'

Addressing the court, Johnson said today he is 'ashamed' at his decision to join the mob and said he had been 'nothing but cooperative' with the government since his arrest. He recognised he could be 'on a firing wall instead of [in] a courtroom' if his actions had taken place in another country, and claimed he'd had no intentions of harming Pelosi during the insurrection.

Per NBC News, he added: 'If I did find her, I would ask for a selfie with her, if anything.'

The dad pleaded guilty to a criminal count of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds and admitted he unlawfully entered the Capitol after witnessing fights with police outside the building, and that he took Pelosi's podium because he 'believed it would make a good prop for a picture.'

He also admitted to shouting that a bust of George Washington would be 'a great battering ram' as his fellow rioters attempted to break into the US House, where members of Congress were still gathered.

Assistant US Attorney Jessica Arco said Johnson's behaviour should be punished with prison time, and showed the court a video of Johnson at the door of what he thought was Pelosi's office.

Johnson was sentenced to 75 days in prison, with credit for some time he's already served, as well as being hit with a $5,000 fine and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.

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