Richard Barnett, an Arkansas man who was photographed together with his toes on a desk in former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s workplace in the course of the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot, arrives at federal courtroom in Washington, Jan. 10, 2023.

Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

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Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

Richard Barnett, an Arkansas man who was photographed together with his toes on a desk in former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s workplace in the course of the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot, arrives at federal courtroom in Washington, Jan. 10, 2023.

Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

WASHINGTON — An Arkansas man who propped his toes on a desk in then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s workplace in a broadly circulated photograph from the U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced Wednesday to greater than 4 years in jail.

Richard “Bigo” Barnett turned one of many faces of the Jan. 6 riot by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, and U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper mentioned in saying that sentence that Barnett appeared at occasions to benefit from the notoriety.

“All the folks who follow ‘Bigo’ need to know the actions of Jan. 6 cannot be repeated without some serious repercussions,” Cooper mentioned, alluding to the media consideration and social media following Barnett attracted after the riot.

The 54-month sentence for Barnett, a retired firefighter from Gravette, Arkansas, comes after he was convicted at trial on eight counts, together with felony costs of civil dysfunction and obstruction of an official continuing, on this case a Jan. 6, 2021, session of Congress to certify Joe Biden’s victory over Trump within the 2020 presidential election.

The photographs of Barnett lounging at a desk in Pelosi’s workplace made him one of the memorable figures from the riot. Barnett, 63, testified he was “going with the flow” and struck a pose after information photographers informed him to “act natural.”

He informed the decide that becoming a member of the riot was “an enigma in my life” that he regretted, however mentioned prosecutors wished him to be “remorseful for things I did not do.”

“Jan. 6 was a traumatic day for everyone, not just law enforcement,” he mentioned. He has vowed to enchantment his conviction. He testified at trial that he was swept together with the group into the Capitol, and was searching for a toilet when he unwittingly entered Pelosi’s workplace and encountered two information photographers.

Cooper, although, mentioned he didn’t consider Barnett performed such a passive position.

It was established at trial that Barnett introduced into the Capitol a stun gun with spikes, hid inside a collapsible strolling stick. Barnett additionally took a bit of Pelosi’s mail and left behind a word that mentioned, “Nancy, Bigo was here,” punctuating the message with a sexist expletive.

Before leaving Capitol grounds, Barnett used a bullhorn to provide a speech to the group, shouting, “We took back our house, and I took Nancy Pelosi’s office!” in line with prosecutors.

Prosecutors additionally mentioned Barnett has since posted “falsehoods” on social media about Jan. 6 and downplaying his position. “The defendant still believes he can say or do whatever he wants and if someone else is threatened by it, that’s their problem,” prosecutor Alison Prout mentioned.

Defense lawyer Jonathan Gross mentioned Barnett did not damage anybody or harm property, and was being singled out as a result of the photograph had made him well-known.

“Mr. Barnett should not be punished because the government thinks he’s a symbol,” he mentioned.

Cooper’s sentence fell in need of the roughly seven years prosecutors sought, although it was greater than protection attorneys’ request for a 12-month time period.

More than 1,000 individuals have been charged with federal crimes associated to the Capitol riot. Just over 500 of them have been sentenced. More than half have obtained jail phrases starting from every week to over 14 years.

Also on Wednesday, a Pennsylvania man was sentenced to 5 years in jail after being convicted of assault and different costs within the riot. Prosecutors say Robert Morss, of Glenshaw, Pennsylvania, wearing fatigues and tried to take a baton from an officer, and stole a riot protect from one other, whereas working to prepare members of the group to push previous Capitol guards. He yelled to officers: “Take a look around. We are going to take our Capitol back,” prosecutors say.

An lawyer for Morss, 29, declined to remark after his sentencing. His lawyer, Nick Smith, famous in courtroom paperwork that his consumer noticed three excursions of responsibility in Afghanistan as a member of the Army and has already served two years behind bars. Morss alleges he was abused by guards in jail.

“This case has already turned Morss’s life upside down. The government’s suggestion that these heavy blows are insufficient to deter the one-time, situational crimes Morss committed is nonsense,” Smith wrote.