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Capitol Insurrection Congress January 6

January 6 Rioter Draws A Blank When Prosecutors Ask Him About The Bill Of Rights

It became one of the most famous images from the January 6. 2021 attack on the Capitol: A man sitting at a desk in the office of then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, his feet propped up as if he belonged there.

But as Richard “Bigo” Barnett soon learned, his brush with fame had serious consequences, as he’s now facing years in prison for what he later dubbed a “joke.”

Barnett appeared in a federal court Thursday and tried to make it sound like he had merely gotten caught up in the moment and was sorry for his actions:

“Because of all the controversies. I probably shouldn’t have put my feet on the desk. And my language.” Although he still suspects that former president Donald Trump was fraudulently denied reelection and that “nefarious characters” on the political left are intent on destroying the Constitution, he told the jury he would apologize to Pelosi in person if he could.

“I’m a Christian. It just wasn’t good. It wasn’t who I am.”

Barnett, you may recall, left a hateful message for Pelosi, which also came up Thursday:

“Nancy, Bigo was here, you b—-,” he said he wrote in a note, leaving it on the desk before departing with an item that didn’t belong to him: an empty envelope addressed to a House Democrat and bearing the digital signature of Pelosi (D-Calif.). “I put a quarter on the desk even though she ain’t f—-ing worth it,” he shouted hoarsely outside the Capitol, displaying his souvenir for video cameras.

At one point, a prosecutor asked Barnett, “You love the Constitution?” 

Barnett: “Love it!”

Prosecutor: “First Amendment?”

Barnett: “Yes.”

Prosecutor: “Second Amendment?”

Barnett: “Yes.”

Prosecutor: “Love the Third Amendment?”

Barnett: “Yes.”

The prosecutor then inquired, “What’s the Third Amendment?”

Barnett paused and sheepishly admitted, “I don’t know.”

The Third Amendment prohibits the government from quartering troops in civilian homes.

Barnett has been indicted on eight criminal counts, including felony obstruction of an official proceeding and entering a restricted building with a dangerous weapon.

 

By Andrew Bradford

Proud progressive journalist and political adviser living behind enemy lines in Red America.

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