Man carrying Pelosi's lectern in riot arrested
The arrests Saturday, coming a day after federal charges were announced against more than a dozen others, highlighted the consequences faced by some of the most recognizable people who swept through the battered Capitol Building posing for photos and videos.
There are now 18 known federal criminal defendants related to the Capitol riots, which shocked the nation as a mob of President Donald Trump's supporters laid siege to America's symbol of democracy, determined to stop Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Some are people who grew violent with police, some are photographed in the building during the destruction, and some are people who allegedly brought guns and ammunition and, in the case of one man, Molotov cocktails, around the Capitol.
Adam Johnson, 36, of Florida was arrested in the state Friday and booked into the Pinellas County Jail just days after he was allegedly caught on camera carrying the House speaker's lectern, according to the release. He has been 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.
Jacob Anthony Chansley, who allegedly was the man seen in photos dressed in horns, bearskin headdress and face paint, was taken into custody Saturday, according to the release. The Arizona man has been charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, and with violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
It was not immediately clear Saturday whether Johnson or Chansley had an attorney.
Chansley told the FBI he came to Washington earlier this week "as a part of a group effort, with other 'patriots' from Arizona, at the request of the President that all 'patriots' come to D.C. on January 6, 2021," according to a narrative from investigators in his court record.
Chansley had called the FBI the day after the attack Wednesday and confirmed to them he was the person in the photos in the vice president's chair in the Senate, the court document said.
His voluntary disclosure to the FBI is the strongest wording in court filings yet indicating coordination between followers of the President that led to the violent and destructive overrun of the Capitol.
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