The man identified as the rioter photographed sitting in House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office chair during last week’s Capitol insurrection made his initial federal court appearance on Tuesday.
Richard Barnett, 60, of Gravette, Arkansas, appeared before US magistrate judge Erin Wiedemann in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to hear the charges against him.
Among them is a charge that he unlawfully entered a restricted area with a lethal weapon in this case, a stun gun.
Mr Barnett is also charged with disorderly conduct and theft of public property. If convicted on all charges, including the new lethal weapon count, he could be sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison.
Arkansas man seen in Pelosi s office carried stun gun into Capitol building during riot, faces 11 years in prison
Richard Barnett appeared in front of a federal judge in Arkansas Tuesday. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 11 and a half years in prison and a $350,000 fine. Author: Casey Frizzell Updated: 7:17 PM EST January 12, 2021
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. Richard Barnett, the man from Northwest Arkansas at the center of a viral photo in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi s office during a riot at the Capitol, appeared in federal court in Arkansas Tuesday.
Along with several other rioters, Barnett shocked the world when he stormed the U.S. Capitol last week while Congress voted to certify the electoral votes for President-elect Joe Biden. The scene has caused many people to blame President Trump and his cabinet for false claims that the election was stolen for him.