Adam Johnson | |
---|---|
Born | Adam Christian Johnson Millington, Tennessee, U.S. |
Occupations |
|
Known for | January 6 United States Capitol attack |
Conviction(s) | Entering and remaining in a restricted building (18 U.S.C. § 1752) |
Criminal penalty | 75 days imprisonment plus a $5,000 fine |
Adam Christian Johnson, also known as the "Podium Guy", [1] [2] is an American convicted criminal who took part in the United States Capitol attack on January 6, 2021. A photograph of Johnson carrying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's lectern became a prominent image of the attack.
On February 25, 2022, he was convicted of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, and was sentenced to 75 days of incarceration with a $5,000 fine. [3]
Johnson was born in Millington, Tennessee, and lived most of his life in Southwest Florida and attending the University of South Florida. In his late teens and early twenties, he was arrested on two separate misdemeanor marijuana charges by Manatee County police. He violated probation in 2005 by failing to submit needed supervision reports. [2] Johnson had listed his occupation as a cook in 2005, [2] and had worked as a furniture maker. [4] He was unemployed at the time of the insurrection. [2]
At the time of the Capitol attack, he had been registered with no party affiliation since 2019, having initially registered as a Republican in Florida's voter registration database in 2002. [5] [2] He voted in the 2004 and 2020 general elections, [6] but did not vote in the 2016 election. [2] Posts on his Facebook page before the attack showed him wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat. [5] He had also derided the Black Lives Matter movement on social media. [6]
Before the attack, Johnson shared on social media that he would be in Washington, D.C. [6] On the way to the Capitol, he posted selfies on Facebook in an airport with other MAGA supporters. [2] In a rally on the night of January 5, a Washington Post videographer captured him shouting expletives and implying that he did not believe President Biden was legitimately elected. [3] Following the rally, he posted a photo of himself on Facebook with the caption, "Riot!!!" [3]
On January 6, 2021, during the United States Capitol attack, Johnson was at the front of the riot, having sprinted from the "Stop the Steal" rally at the White House after learning of the attack. [3] He spent 35 minutes inside the Capitol, entering three highly sensitive areas of the Capitol according to prosecutors, and was photographed jiggling the handle of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's office suite. [3] He found Pelosi's lectern near a spiral staircase and carried it to the Capitol rotunda. [7] In the rotunda, he was photographed by a Getty Images photographer Win McNamee wearing a Trump themed ski cap and holding the lectern in his right arm. [8] [4] He asked a woman to take pictures of him standing in front of the podium, then left the lectern in the middle of the room. [7] He was then recorded telling the other rioters to use a bust of George Washington to break down the doors to the House Chamber, as well as other encouragement. [3]
In the hours following the riot and the publishing of the photograph, Johnson was nicknamed "Podium Guy" on the internet. [2] He wrote on social media that he “broke the internet” and that he was “finally famous.” [3] [9]
The location of the lectern was not immediately known following the attack. [10] The federal warrant for Johnson's arrest stated that "on or about January 7, 2021, the lectern was found by a member of the Senate staff in the Red corridor of the Senate wing off the Rotunda in the Capitol building," and that "according to the House of Representatives’ curator, the Speaker's lectern has a market value of more than $1,000." [11] The lectern would later be placed in the Capitol's Rayburn Room on January 13 for an engrossment ceremony of the House impeachment resolution. [12]
The FBI searched for Johnson following the attack. [10] He was later identified by residents of Bradenton, Florida through the photos taken of him during the attack, [5] and this was published in The Bradenton Herald on January 8, 2021. [4] He was arrested on January 8 [3] after being reported to the FBI by his acquaintance Allan Mestel, and held in Pinellas County Jail pending charges and on a warrant from the United States Marshals Service. [11] [6] He cooperated fully with federal agents, but had destroyed his photographs and social media accounts before his arrest. [3]
Johnson was charged with "one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; one count of theft of government property; and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds." [10] [8] He was released on $25,000 bond on January 11, 2021. [13]
Federal prosecutors initially asked for a 90-day sentence. [1] [14] On November 22, 2021, Johnson reached a plea agreement and pleaded guilty in federal court to entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, and prosecutors dismissed his charges of theft of government property and of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. [7] The plea deal also included an agreement on a potential book or "something of that nature" that would be published by Johnson, which gave the government rights to any profit that Johnson acquired as a result of that product for five years. [7] During his trial, judge Reggie Walton recommended he read the books How Civil Wars Start , and The Next Civil War . [3] On February 25, 2022, Johnson was sentenced to 75 days in prison with a year of supervised release and 200 hours of community service, and he was ordered to pay a $5,525 fine. [1] [3] [14] [15] [16]
Actor and political artist Jim Carrey created a portrait of Johnson following the attack, entitled #fuckedforlife. [17] John Krasinski mimicked Johnson carrying the lectern in an episode of Saturday Night Live . [18]
Johnson was a stay-at-home father of five boys, and was married to a medical doctor, his second wife. [2] [3] At the time of the Capitol attack, he was 36 and lived in Manatee County, Florida. [6] He went to a Baptist church. [2]
Paul Francis Pelosi is an American businessman who owns and operates Financial Leasing Services, Inc., a San Francisco–based real estate and venture capital investment and consulting firm. He was the owner of the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League. He is married to Nancy Pelosi, the 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
Klete Derik Keller is an American former competitive swimmer and a convicted participant in the January 6 United States Capitol attack. Before retiring from swimming in 2008, Keller won five Olympic medals, including two golds, at the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Summer Olympics in the 400-meter freestyle and the 4×200-meter freestyle relay.
Paul Douglas Irving is an American former law enforcement officer who served as the Sergeant at Arms of the United States House of Representatives from January 17, 2012, until January 7, 2021, succeeding Wilson Livingood in that post. He resigned due to his inability to fulfill his duty during the 2021 United States Capitol attack.
Steven A. Sund is a retired American police officer who served as the tenth chief of the United States Capitol Police from 2019 to 2021. Sund was chief during the January 6 United States Capitol attack, after which he resigned.
Joseph Randall Biggs is an American veteran, media personality, organizer of the Proud Boys, and convicted felon for his participation in the January 6 United States Capitol attack.
On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of then-U.S. president Donald Trump, two months after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. They sought to keep Trump in power by occupying the Capitol and preventing a joint session of Congress counting the Electoral College votes to formalize the victory of President-elect Joe Biden. The attack was ultimately unsuccessful in preventing the certification of the election results. According to the House select committee investigating the incident, the attack was the culmination of a seven-part plan by Trump to overturn the election.
Jacob Anthony Angeli Chansley, also known as the QAnon Shaman, Q Shaman, and Yellowstone Wolf, is an American far-right conspiracy theorist, rioter, and convicted felon who participated in the January 6 United States Capitol attack, for which he was convicted after a guilty plea on charges of obstructing an official proceeding. He is a supporter of former president Donald Trump and a former believer and disseminator of the QAnon conspiracy theory which has no basis in reality or any facts to corroborate its claims.
On January 7, 2021, a United States Capitol Police (USCP) officer, Brian Sicknick, died after suffering two strokes the day after he responded to an attack on the U.S. Capitol. The District of Columbia chief medical examiner found that Sicknick had died from stroke, classifying his death as natural and additionally commented that "all that transpired played a role in his condition", a decision which was criticized by some expert neurologists, who have stated that stress from the attack may have very well caused the stroke. His cremated remains were laid in honor in the Capitol Rotunda on February 2, 2021, before they were buried with full honors at Arlington National Cemetery.
The following article is a broad timeline of the course of events surrounding the attack on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, by rioters supporting United States President Donald Trump's attempts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. Pro-Trump rioters stormed the United States Capitol after assembling on the Ellipse of the Capitol complex for a rally headlined as the "Save America March".
The January 6 United States Capitol attack was followed by political, legal, and social repercussions. The second impeachment of Donald Trump, who was charged for incitement of insurrection for his conduct, occurred on January 13. At the same time, Cabinet officials were pressured to invoke the 25th Amendment for removing Trump from office. Trump was subsequently acquitted in the Senate trial, which was held in February after Trump had already left office. The result was a 57–43 vote in favor of conviction, with every Democrat and seven Republicans voting to convict, but two-thirds of the Senate are required to convict. Many in the Trump administration resigned. Several large companies announced they were halting all political donations, and others have suspended funding the lawmakers who had objected to certifying Electoral College results. A bill was introduced to form an independent commission, similar to the 9/11 Commission, to investigate the events surrounding the attack; it passed the House but was blocked by Republicans in the Senate. The House then approved a House "select committee" to investigate the attack. In June, the Senate released the results of its own investigation of the attack. The event led to strong criticism of law enforcement agencies. Leading figures within the United States Capitol Police resigned. A large-scale criminal investigation was undertaken, with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opening more than 1,200 case files. Federal law enforcement undertook a nationwide manhunt for the perpetrators, with arrests and indictments following within days. Over 890 people had been found guilty of federal crimes.
Dominic Pezzola is an American convicted felon and member of the Proud Boys who participated in the January 6 United States Capitol attack, a violent attack at the U.S. Capitol. He is best known for stealing a police riot shield and using it to break a Capitol window on January 6, 2021, making him the first rioter to breach the building. Indicted in 2021, on federal charges, he was tried in 2023 alongside Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and his key lieutenants, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, and Zachary Rehl. In May 2023, following a five-month jury trial, Pezzola was convicted of obstructing a congressional proceeding, assaulting a police officer, and other crimes. He was acquitted of seditious conspiracy, the most serious charge. The jury deadlocked on other charges against Pezzola, including conspiring to obstruct the counting of the electoral votes.
The National Commission to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol Complex, known colloquially as the January 6 commission, was an unsuccessful proposal to create a commission that would have investigated the January 6 United States Capitol attack. On February 15, 2021, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi announced that she planned to create a "9/11-type commission". The details were initially negotiated by Republican John Katko, and would have consisted of an equal number of Democrats and Republicans. A bill forming the commission passed the House of Representatives on May 19, with all Democrats and 35 Republicans voting in support of it. However, it was blocked by Senate Republicans on May 28, with 54 Senators voting in favor and 35 voting against, failing to clear the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster.
On January 6, 2021, supporters of then President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol Building, disrupting the joint session of Congress assembled to count electoral votes to formalize Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 United States Presidential Election. By the end of the month, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had opened more than 400 case files and issued more than 500 subpoenas and search warrants related to the riot. The FBI also created a website to solicit tips from the public specifically related to the riot and were especially assisted by the crowdsourced sleuthing group Sedition Hunters. By the end of 2021, 725 people had been charged with federal crimes. That number rose to 1,000 by the second anniversary of the attack, and to 1,200 by the third anniversary, at which point over 890 people had been found guilty of federal crimes. These federal cases are handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia (D.C.). State cases, of which there are fewer, are handled in the D.C. Superior Court.
The Justice for J6 rally was a right-wing demonstration in Washington, D.C., in support of hundreds of people who were arrested and charged following the January 6 United States Capitol attack. It occurred on September 18, 2021. The event attracted 100–200 activists. It was organized by a former Trump campaign staffer. The event was noted for extensive security preparations and concerns over possible unrest.
Corruptly obstructing, influencing, or impeding an official proceeding is a felony under U.S. federal law. It was enacted as part of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 in reaction to the Enron scandal, and closed a legal loophole on who could be charged with evidence tampering by defining the new crime very broadly.
On October 28, 2022, far-right conspiracy theorist David DePape attacked Paul Pelosi, the then-82-year-old husband of Nancy Pelosi, the 52nd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. He beat Paul Pelosi with a hammer during a home invasion of the couple's Pacific Heights, San Francisco residence, leaving him seriously injured. Pelosi required surgery for a fractured skull.
Kelly Meggs is an American convicted felon who previously led the Oath Keepers' Florida chapter. He was found guilty of seditious conspiracy following his forced entry into the United States Capitol during the January 6 United States Capitol attack. Meggs was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Richard Morris "Bigo" Barnett is an American convicted felon who took part in the United States Capitol attack on January 6, 2021. A photograph of Barnett with his feet on a desk in Nancy Pelosi’s office in the Capitol building became one of the most prominent images of the January 6 attack.
Kevin James Lyons is an American man who stole a photograph of Congressman John Lewis from house speaker Nancy Pelosi's office as he participated in the January 6 United States Capitol attack.