WASHINGTON—A man photographed sitting at an aide’s desk in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office during the Washington protests on Jan. 6 has been arrested and faces multiple charges, according to federal officials.
Richard Barnett from Arkansas was arrested this morning in Little Rock, Arkansas, said Ken Kohl, first assistant for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, on Jan. 8.
Kohl told reporters during a conference call that Barnett was charged with entering and remaining in a restricted building and grounds without authority. He is also charged for violent entry and disorderly conduct on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol and for theft of public money or public property.
Photos of Barnett that went viral on social media showed him casually sitting with his foot on a desk inside Pelosi’s office. He was seen taking mail and leaving a quarter on the desk.
Protesters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, interrupting a joint session of Congress that was held to count electoral votes and confirm the presidential election winner.
Derrick Evans, a Republican member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, was one of the protestors who stormed the Capitol. Evans has been charged with entering a restricted area and entering the Capitol, according to Kohl.
U.S. Capitol Police have also located a pickup truck with an Alabama license plate registered to Lonnie Coffman. In the truck, police found 11 Molotov cocktails as well as firearms and an M4 Carbine Assault rifle, Kohl said. Coffman’s detention hearing is scheduled for Jan. 12.
Another protestor, Mark Leffingwell, was charged with entering the Senate side of the Capitol and pushing officers. He is also accused of punching an officer in the helmet and chest.
“Today’s charges are just the results of the extensive work done by the FBI and our partners over the last few days. And we are far from done,” Steven D'Antuono, assistant director in charge at FBI Washington Field Office, said during the conference call.
He said the FBI deployed hundreds of people, including special agents, bomb technicians, evidence response teams, and tactical and specialty teams, as well as intelligence analysts to investigate the events.
“We will continue to investigate all allegations of criminal activity,” D'Antuono said.
Michael Sherwin, acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, announced on Jan. 7 that more than 50 people were charged within 36 hours, related mostly to the breach of the Capitol during the protests in Washington this week.
