LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An Arkansas man photographed sitting at a desk in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office during the riot at the U.S. Capitol last week was put under house arrest Friday as he awaits trial.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Erin Wiedemann set a $5,000 bond for Richard Barnett, and confined him to his home in Gravette, Arkansas, with a GPS monitor to track his location. Wiedemann also prohibited Barnett from using the internet or having contact with anyone else who participated in the Jan. 6 violence.
Federal prosecutors indicated the Justice Department planned to appeal the order and asked Wiedemann to stay her decision. Barnett was set to be released on Saturday.
Barnett was among supporters of President Donald Trump who stormed the Capitol. Five people died because of the protest and violence, including a Capitol police officer.
Barnett is charged with unlawfully entering a restricted area with a lethal weapon — in this case, a stun gun. Barnett also is charged with disorderly conduct and theft of public property.
He surrendered voluntarily Jan. 8 to FBI agents at the Benton County Sheriff’s Office in Bentonville, Arkansas, and has remained in the Washington County jail since then.
During a nearly four-hour hearing Friday held over video conference, prosecutors showed pictures of Barnett sitting at a desk in Pelosi’s office and Capitol security video of him inside the building. They also showed footage of him bragging on a bullhorn to a crowd outside the Capitol about taking a envelope from the speaker’s office.
