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, authorities announced.
Richard Barnett was arrested in Little Rock, according to Ken Kohl, the top deputy federal prosecutor in Washington.
Kohl said Barnett was charged for entering Pelosi’s office, where he “left a note and removed some of the speaker’s mail.”
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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.
A man who breached Capitol security sits at the desk of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. (Photo: Saul Loeb/Getty) pic.twitter.com/awl5vxrM9W
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If convicted, he faces up to a year in federal prison.
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He was being held in the Washington County Jail in Arkansas. Jail records did not list an attorney for him.
Authorities say Barnett was among supporters of President Donald Trump who stormed the Capitol on Wednesday.
Five people died as a result of the riot, including a Capitol police officer.
Authorities said in court documents that they were able to identify Barnett in part using 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.
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Barnett is from Gravette in northwest Arkansas.
Jim Parsons, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who served in Vietnam as a Green Beret, told The Associated Press that he has been a guest speaker at a couple of “patriotic gatherings” that Barnett also attended.
Barnett had an AR-15 rifle with him “to make sure things stay peaceful,” Parsons said. He called Barnett “a good guy. He’s patriotic.”
One of the groups that Barnett belongs to believes “a face mask is a dress rehearsal for what’s to come. … It’ll end up with a chip in the forehead,” Parsons, of Bella Vista, Arkansas, said.
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