Judge orders man accused of taking Pelosi’s lectern in Capitol riot to ‘stay away’ from DC
On the eve of Inauguration Day, a federal judge ordered that Parrish resident Adam Johnson’s movements will no longer be GPS monitored, and he no longer will have to abide by a curfew nor be subject to a bond should he violate his newly eased conditions of release.
Johnson, who is charged with his participation in the U.S. Capitol riot and taking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lectern, was one of many of the suspects who was released on his own recognizance by Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey in a teleconferenced hearing Tuesday in Washington.
“You are to stay away from Washington D.C. You can only come to D.C. for the purpose of court business,” Harvey ordered Johnson.
Johnson is not allowed to leave the Middle District of Florida without written permission of the court. He will be prohibited from possessing any firearms or a passport, all of which Johnson had already surrendered.
Harvey also ordered that Johnson no longer be subject to drug testing. Based on Johnson’s limited criminal history , the judge said he didn’t see a basis for the drug testing, GPS monitoring or curfew. Johnson’s criminal history includes charges for possession of marijuana and violation of probation.
“No indication that he is a flight risk. I think the conditions I set are sufficient,” Harvey said.
The magistrate judge said it was unusual that conditions of release had been set by a federal judge outside the district where the charges were filed. Bond was also unusual in the D.C. court, he added.
Johnson, 36, was identified by local residents when a photo of him carrying Pelosi’s lectern out of the House chambers quickly went viral in the hours following the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, when a mob of pro-Trump supporters tried to stop Congress from certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory over President Donald Trump in the Nov. 3 election. The lectern was later found in the Red corridor of the Senate wing off the Rotunda in the Capitol.
Two days after the riot, Johnson was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Office with the aid of the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, which assisted in setting up a meeting for Johnson to surrender.
Johnson had walked out of the federal courthouse in Tampa on Jan. 11 after making his first appearance in court. A federal judge at the time had granted Johnson’s release on a $25,000 surety bond, cosigned by his wife. The Tampa federal judge ordered Johnson to wear a GPS ankle monitor and abide by a daily curfew from before 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
A stay-at-home father, Johnson lives in Parrish with his wife and their five children.
Appearing by video on Tuesday afternoon, 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, according to a federal complaint.
Many of those charged in the Capitol riot appeared before Harvey on Tuesday afternoon, with the hearing going into the evening.
Johnson is scheduled to appear in court at 11 a.m. on April 19 for a status conference hearing.
This story was originally published January 19, 2021 at 8:29 PM.
