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WASHINGTON – A Washington federal judge on Thursday ordered Richard Barnett – the Arkansas man pictured sitting with his foot lifted in the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the Jan.6 uprising – to be jailed as his case progresses, practically spitting out the words. anger when she announced her decision from the bench.
“His legitimate behavior … shows a complete disregard for the law and for the guidance of officials,” said US District Chief Justice Beryl Howell. “Total contempt for the US Constitution.”
Prosecutors had appealed to Howell after an Arkansas federal magistrate on Jan.15 rejected their request to keep Barnett in custody pending trial and instead ordered house arrest. Howell said Thursday the crimes Barnett was accused of were “too benign” on their face to grasp the scope of what he and others accused of participating in the insurgency did on Jan.6. Barnett faces one count of bringing a dangerous weapon into the Capitol – a stun device shaped like a walking stick – as well as two counts of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds and theft of government goods; he was pictured outside the Capitol holding an envelope he said he took from Pelosi’s office.
“What happened that day is criminal activity that is destined to feature in the history books of this country,” Howell said. “It was not a peaceful protest. Hundreds of people came to Washington, DC, to disrupt the transition of power and thwart Congress, a branch of the federal government, in carrying out its duties, in carrying out of its constitutional task of officially certifying the votes of the Electoral College. “
Howell said residents of DC were still living with the “consequences” of the assault on Capitol Hill, noting the National Guard deployment that led to the inauguration of President Joe Biden. The evidence against Barnett was “overwhelming,” she said, describing how he “strutted” around Pelosi’s office and “felt so skillful that he put his feet up on the desk” and picked up his mail. . Howell is no stranger to Capitol Hill – years before becoming a federal judge in 2010, she spent a decade working for the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“Brazen, titled, Dangerous,” Judge Barnett said.
At Barnett’s first Arkansas detention hearing, his attorney introduced friends and family as personality witnesses. Howell was unconvinced, saying that many of the witnesses did not seem to know Barnett well, and it seemed his wife had tried to hide evidence. Although Barnett does not have a previous criminal record, Howell credited government evidence that he was the subject of two police reports last year, including one in which the appellant accused him of aiming her gun at her car because she had a Black. Lives Matter sticker.
Barnett’s attorney, Anthony Siano, argued his client voluntarily surrendered when he learned he was wanted, a sign he would comply with court orders if allowed to return home. But Howell didn’t give as much weight either, pointing out that there was evidence he had taken steps to avoid detection, including turning off location tracking on his phone, and s’ bragged to the FBI that he wouldn’t find anything incriminating about his house because he was “smart”; Investigators could not find Barnett’s phone, the prosecutor noted Thursday. Howell joked that she didn’t know how smart Barnett was, “but he’s definitely a swagger.”
The judge also read aloud in an incredulous tone the comments that Barnett given to a reporter for the New York Times after leaving the Capitol building, including: “I wrote him a nasty note, I put my feet on his desk and I scratched my balls.” In a video recorded outside the Capitol, Barnett described leaving a note in Pelosi’s office that read, “Nancy, Bigo was there, bitch.”
Just as Howell was about to announce his decision, Barnett – who was called remotely at the jail hearing – asked for a deadline to speak to his lawyer first. He briefly attempted to argue on his own behalf, claiming he was a “good man” who was involved in his community. It did not change the judge’s opinion.
Siano was also briefly the butt of Howell’s wrath. He had filed a letter with the court accusing prosecutors of failing to notify him of their appeal of the trial judge’s release order and of “misleading” the court about his role as a judge. Barnett’s lawyer. Howell said Siano’s allegations of misconduct were “frivolous and unfounded” and that such behavior was “not acceptable”.
Barnett’s case is one of the few where prosecutors have asked federal judges in Washington, where Capitol Hill insurgency cases are being prosecuted, to overturn previous release orders after the defendants were arrested in their home country original. Several of those cases are pending before Howell, who reported Thursday that defense attorneys in those other cases were facing a strong surge in convincing her to allow their clients to return home.
The Arkansas magistrate who handled Barnett’s case did a thorough job reviewing the case before making a decision, Howell said at the end of the hearing.
“But I respectfully disagree,” she said.
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