8 things to know about Florida man that took Pelosi’s lectern during Jan. 6 Capitol riot
One of the most recognizable faces of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot in Washington is a man from Parrish, Florida.
Adam Johnson, 37, was captured by a Getty photographer smiling and waving as he held Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s lectern and walked across the Rotunda.
He’s now serving prison time but scheduled to be released on June 14 from the Colemen Federal Correction Complex in Sumter County.
Here’s a recap and seven things you may have missed:
Finding Pelosi’s lectern
Johnson followed a sign directing people to Pelosi’s office suite and jiggled the handle on the door he thought was her office, but the door was locked.
Shortly after is when Johnson found and took Pelosi’s lectern to the Rotunda for a photo opportunity, later leaving it in the Red corridor of the Senate wing off the Rotunda.
Bust of George Washington as a battering ram
Following his viral photo opp, Johnson saw other rioters attempting to break through the doors to the House Chamber.
Johnson saw a bust of George Washington and shouted to the others that it would make “a great battering ram.”
Going dark on social media
Johnson deleted his entire Facebook account before his arrest.
He also deleted the photographs and videos he took during and leading up to the Capitol Riot from his phone before handing it over to the FBI.
While federal law enforcement was searching for Johnson and other Capitol rioters, he did not take his scheduled flight back to Florida and instead drove back home in a rental car.
‘Finally famous’
In text messages exchanged with family and friends in the days following the riot, Johnson bragged that he “broke the internet” and was “finally famous.”
Raising money for legal defense
His defense had set-up adamjohnsondefense.org to raise money for his legal defense fund.
Donations were said to go toward covering the expenses associated with his legal defense, with excess funds set to be donated to the charity Tunnels to Towers. The site has since been taken down.
Author aspirations
Johnson had expressed desire to write a book about his involvement in the Capitol Riot but the conditions of the plea deal he took prohibit him from profiting from any book, interviews, merchandise or the like for the next five years.
Into crypto
Johnson has been a stay-at-home father of five and his wife is a local doctor. His defense argued that incarceration would therefore be a burden but his family’s net worth is almost $475,000, including $16,000 in cryptocurrency which has enabled him not to have to work for the last 11 years.
Going to prison party
Adam Johnson created a Facebook event in March named “Adam is going to prison” inviting others to celebrate with him before he was scheduled to surrender himself to serve his 75-day prison sentence. The evnt location was initially listed as Caddy’s Bradenton, which was news to the restuaraunt when contacted by the Bradenton Herald.
After the Herald’s initial reporting on the party, the location was changed to the location to the Sahara desert and claimed it was an April Fool’s Day joke saying, “There is no party. At least not a public one.”
Johnson also took to the conservative social media site Gab and shared the Bradenton Herald’s initial report and wrote, “Well looks like someone is trying to ruin my party.”
