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Arkansas Man Tells of Pelosi Office Invasion to Cheering Capitol Crowd

An Arkansas man charged after for invading House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office on January 6 proudly displayed an envelope bearing the speaker’s letterhead to a cheering crowd outside, and told them that he “took Nancy Pelosi’s office.”

Footage shared on YouTube by Southcoast Reality TV shows Richard Barnett of Gravette, Arkansas, addressing demonstrators in front of the Capitol, close to a police line.

“We took back our House. I took Nancy Pelosi’s office,” Barnett tells the crowd through a megaphone.

Barnett, 60, caught swift attention from authorities after a photo showing him sitting in Pelosi’s office chair, with a foot on her desk, was widely published.

On January 8, the Department of Justice said Barnett had been arrested in Bentonville, Arkansas, and charged with “knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds; and theft of public money, property, or records.”

Barnett was scheduled to appear in federal court on Tuesday, January 12, before being extradited to Washington, the department said.

Jeffrey A. Rosen, Acting Attorney General of the United States, described the image of Barnett with his feet on office desk as “shocking,” and said people “proven to have committed criminal acts during the storming of the Capitol will face justice,” according to the DOJ press release. Credit: YouTube/Southcoast Reality TV via Storyful