Delay in case against Parrish man charged in Capitol riot as potential plea discussed
A status hearing in the case against Parrish resident Adam Johnson, charged with taking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lectern during the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, has been delayed to provide both sides time to review the extensive evidence and discuss a potential plea.
Within hours of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Johnson was identified by local residents as the man photographed carrying Pelosi’s lectern. Two days later, an arrest warrant was issued and Johnson surrendered to U.S. marshals.
Johnson, 36, had been scheduled to appear in court on Monday for a status hearing in the case, but a federal judge granted prosecutors’ request for a 60-day continuance.
“The Court finds that the ends of justice served by the granting of such continuance outweigh the best interests of the public and the Defendant in a speedy trial, as the continuance will provide the parties with additional time to review the voluminous discovery in this matter as well as discuss a potential pretrial disposition,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Harvey said in an April 15 dated order.
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.
Current conditions of Johnson’s release bar him from traveling outside of the Middle District of Florida without written permission and prohibit from possessing any firearms or a passport.
The U.S. Justice Department began offering plea offers over the past month to some of the more than 400 defendants charged in the insurrection at the Capitol.
In an opposed motion filed on April 9 by the prosecution, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Arco had requested the continuance of the status hearing and of the speedy trial period.
“Due to the number of individuals currently charged across the Capitol Attack investigation and the nature of those charges, the on-going investigation of many other individuals, the volume and nature of potentially discoverable materials, and the reasonable time necessary for effective preparation by all parties taking into account the exercise of due diligence, the failure to grant such a continuance in this proceeding would be likely to make a continuation of this proceeding impossible, or result in a miscarriage of justice,” Arco agued in the motion.
Johnson’s status hearing is now set for 10:30 a.m. on June 18.
This story was originally published April 22, 2021 at 3:45 PM.
