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DOJ Offers 70- to 87-Month Prison Sentence to Man Photographed With Feet Up in Nancy Pelosi’s Office
Epoch Times ^ | 03/08/2022 | Joseph M. Hanneman

Posted on 03/08/2022 9:52:57 PM PST by SeekAndFind

Richard ‘Bigo’ Barnett, the Arkansas man photographed with his feet on a desk in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) office on Jan. 6, 2021, rejected a plea agreement offered by the Department of Justice that would have seen him spend 70 to 87 months in prison.

Barnett, 61, of Gravette, Arkansas, faces three charges stemming from the U.S. Capitol breach, including knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds while armed with a dangerous weapon, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, and theft of public money, property, or records.

Barnett’s attorney, Joseph McBride, rejected the plea offer, calling it “ridiculous.” Barnett will proceed to trial in the fall, he said.

“The very general question is, ‘Does the punishment fit the crime?’” McBride told The Epoch Times. “There is no standard of reasonableness under which 70 or 87 months of incarceration for a 61-year-old man with no criminal record can ever amount to justice.

“In this situation, it is egregious. It is disgusting. It is a criminalization of the First Amendment’s right to participate in political speech. While it was not a perfect day, he certainly should not spend years of his life—basically the entire decade of his 60s—behind bars. It’s ridiculous.”

According to federal prosecutors, Barnett entered into the conference area of the Speaker’s office on Jan. 6, 2021, at about 2:50 p.m. and left at 2:56 p.m. He put his feet up on a desk and posed for photographs that went viral on the internet later that day.

Theft Charge Came From an Envelope

Barnett picked up an empty envelope addressed to Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.), then carried it out with him because a cut on his finger dripped blood on the paper, according to McBride. Barnett gave the envelope to FBI agents when he first met with them in January 2021.

Barnett cut his finger when a crowd pushed him through the Capitol’s Columbus Doors a short time before he entered Pelosi’s office, McBride said.

We received the Government’s plea offer this week: 70-87 months for a glorified trespass.

No criminal history.
Non violent on J6.
Pushed in to the Capitol.

They can stick it where the 🌞 don't shine.

On to trial we go.

Visit my website to fund @BigoBarnett’s freedom fight. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/0G4L5ymWqe

— Joseph D. McBride 👑✝️👑 (@McBrideLawNYC) March 7, 2022

Law enforcement got a tip that Barnett was carrying a stun gun in the photos taken in Pelosi’s office. It was later determined to be a ZAP brand Hike ‘N Strike aluminum walking stick with a built-in flashlight and a 950,000-volt stun gun.

McBride said the stun function was disabled the day prior, and there were no batteries in the device on Jan. 6, 2021. Barnett only used it as a walking stick that day.

“It’s clearly not working. So for them to use this as an excuse to give him an exorbitant amount of time, it’s ridiculous,” McBride said. “They’re just using it as a pretext to hit him over the head with a hammer because of the fame that came along with his picture.”

Barnett described the situation with a bit more color in the government’s charging documents.

“I did not steal it. I bled on it because they were macing me and I couldn’t [expletive] see,” he said. “So I figured, I am in her office. I got blood on her office. I put a quarter on her desk, even though she ain’t [expletive] worth it.

“And I left her a note on her desk that says, ‘Nancy, Bigo was here, you [expletive].’”

Sentencing in the Spotlight

The sentencing of nonviolent Jan. 6, 2021, offenders became a nationally discussed issue last week with the Feb. 25 suicide of Matthew L. Perna, 37, of Sharon, Pennsylvania. Perna hanged himself in his garage after learning that the Department of Justice would seek sentencing enhancers that could have put him in prison for 41 to 51 months.

Perna spent 20 minutes in the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He wasn’t accused of vandalism, violence, or engaging with police. His plea deal included a felony for obstructing an official government proceeding, the certification of electoral votes by Congress.

McBride said excessive sentencing recommendations are part of a strategy.

“They want to crush all things January 6-related, when it comes to you being on the opposite side of the political spectrum,” he said. “They are merciless, they are soulless, they have evil in their hearts.

“It’s very unfortunate. And that’s why we’re in this fight. They’re not going to pitch a shutout. They’re not going to win all these trials. They’re going to start to take losses at some point. They know that, so they are getting their pound of flesh now.”


Joseph Hanneman is a reporter for The Epoch Times who covers the State of Wisconsin. His work over a nearly 40-year career has appeared in Catholic World Report, the Racine Journal Times, the Wisconsin State Journal and the Chicago Tribune. Reach him at: joseph.hanneman@epochtimes.us


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: capitol; dissent; doj; jan6th; january6; nancypelosi; politicalprisoners; protest; sentence
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To: SeekAndFind

I do hope that someone in the GOP is keeping an accurate list of the names of these DOJ Gestapo attorneys for future use.


21 posted on 03/09/2022 4:48:38 AM PST by Colo9250
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To: SeekAndFind

You get less for murdering a cop.


22 posted on 03/09/2022 4:55:15 AM PST by EQAndyBuzz ("Todays conspiracy theory is tomorrows spoiler alert." )
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To: BenLurkin

Unless he damaged something, they should give him what they give to criminal trespassers if they had no trespassing signs up, and nothing more than that. If they had lacked the no trespassing signs, then he deserves simple trespass charges, which is typically a citation and a fine. He’s likely already surpassed that with his time-served during this travesty of justice.


23 posted on 03/09/2022 5:14:52 AM PST by NicoDon
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To: NicoDon

This is porn for Democrats. They sit up at night and play with themselves while thinking about long jail sentences for 1/6ers. They are sick sick people.


24 posted on 03/09/2022 5:18:21 AM PST by lodi90
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To: SeekAndFind

Bill Barr’s Justice Dept only enforces one direction.


25 posted on 03/09/2022 5:50:14 AM PST by bray (The Vax is fake and deadly)
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To: SeekAndFind

Those two nyc scumbag BLM attorneys are not going to get this harsh a sentence for g
throwing two Molotov cocktails into a police car.


26 posted on 03/09/2022 5:56:28 AM PST by Pigsley (I)
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To: Bob434

7 years for a 61-year-old, getting close to a life-or-death sentence, time served and probation.


27 posted on 03/09/2022 5:57:54 AM PST by Striperman (Striperman)
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To: BenLurkin

They’re trying the small number of easy cases first so they can infect the jury pool with a bad opinion of the rest of the defendants.


28 posted on 03/09/2022 6:26:11 AM PST by Socon-Econ (adi)
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To: SeekAndFind

And these fascist/communist scumbags running this country wonder why we will not join their much-wanted war for Ukrainian Independence. They are the our true enemy and have done long-term damage to this country.


29 posted on 03/09/2022 6:39:35 AM PST by ohioman
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To: Bookshelf

“That’s what happens when you make the whole of the DC public safety establishment (DOJ, FBI, DC police, etc.,) look stupid and foolish.
Did I say make? I should have written: prove to be stupid and foolish.”

That says it all!


30 posted on 03/09/2022 6:53:34 AM PST by cymbeline
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To: BenLurkin

With time in custody counting


31 posted on 03/09/2022 7:47:44 AM PST by ridesthemiles
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To: SeekAndFind

I hope he farted in her chair.


32 posted on 03/09/2022 8:00:13 AM PST by Delta 21 (It started as a virus, and mutated into an IQ test.)
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To: SeekAndFind

The cop that murdered unarmed Ashli Babbitt gets an award for doing so.

How Democrat justice works

Stalin kicks box


33 posted on 03/09/2022 9:13:38 AM PST by Vaduz ( )
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To: SeekAndFind

U.S. judge dismisses claims alleging Congressman incited Capitol riots
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed civil claims against Republican Congressman Mo Brooks alleging he helped incite throngs of former President Donald Trump’s supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol, saying Brooks’ speech to the crowd was protected by the First Amendment.

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch)


34 posted on 03/09/2022 11:17:09 AM PST by 1Old Pro
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To: SeekAndFind
It is the combination of long-term jail, physical and mental abuse/torture in jail, and gulag-type sentencing that has kept the U.S. citizens in a permanent fetal position whimpering for mercy and begging our communist masters for forgiveness...

The sheeple are obediently following the rules because of the J6 (Tiananmen II) outcomes:
Bow down!... Obey!... Snitch!...

35 posted on 03/09/2022 11:18:36 AM PST by SuperLuminal (Where is another Sam Adams now that we desperately need him?)
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To: MadMax, the Grinning Reaper

# I’ve never seen so much fascist behavior by DOJ leaders in my life and I worked with DOJ under at least 5 Attorney Generals.

Interesting. Some of us have noticed the massive stench coming from both ‘justice’ and the FBI since Ruby Ridge. Do they issue blinders with their new employee handouts?


36 posted on 03/09/2022 12:58:15 PM PST by zeugma (Stop deluding yourself that America is still a free country.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Well let’s not forget he scratched his balls and wrote her a nasty note too...(Pelosi demands 9000 life sentences without parole)


37 posted on 03/09/2022 1:02:56 PM PST by jughandle (Big words anger me, keep talking. )
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