By ANDREW DeMILLO, The Associated Press
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – A federal judge in Washington on Friday night suspended a plan to release and place the photographed Arkansas man under house arrest sitting at a table in Mayor Nancy Pelosi’s office during last week’s riot at the US Capitol.
Instead, Richard Barnett will be taken to Washington, DC, immediately for prosecution in your case, United States District Chief Judge Beryl Howell ordered Friday night, suspending another judge’s decision to confine Barnett at his home in Gravette, Arkansas, until his trial.
Howell’s decision came hours after American judge Magistrate Erin Wiedemann in Arkansas set Barnett $ 5,000 bail and ordered a GPS monitor to track his location. Wiedemann also banned Barnett from using the internet or having contact with anyone else who participated in the January 6 violence.
This undated photo provided by Washington County, Ark., Sheriff’s Office shows Arkansas resident Richard Barnett, who was taken into custody on Friday, January 8, 2021. Barnett was in a viral photo inside the President’s office. Nancy Pelosi. (Washington County Sheriff’s Office via AP)AP
Barnett, 60, was among supporters of President Donald Trump who stormed the Capitol while lawmakers gathered to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory over Trump. Five people died during the violent uprising, including a Capitol police officer. During a nearly five-hour hearing on Friday by videoconference, federal prosecutors argued that Barnett should remain in custody.
- More: Arrests after Capitol robbery continue: here are the notables so far
“If (Barnett) were to travel across the country and engage in this level of criminal behavior because he believes he is right and it is the Electoral College that is wrong, what would stop him?” US Assistant Prosecutor Kim Harris said.
Barnett is accused of illegally entering a restricted area with a lethal weapon – a stun gun. Barnett is also accused of disorderly conduct and theft of public property. He faces up to 11 ½ months in prison if convicted.
“I think your honor can shape a release order that provides a sufficient range of conditions that will allow my client to be released, that will allow my client to defend himself effectively and … allow him to build a sufficient ‘fence’ in I tell him that if he stumbles, it will be brought to his honor almost immediately, ”Anthony Siano, Barnett’s lawyer, told the judge during the hearing.
He voluntarily surrendered on January 8 to FBI agents at the Benton County Sheriff’s Office in Bentonville, Arkansas, and has remained in Washington County prison since.
During Friday’s hearing, prosecutors showed photos of Barnett sitting at a table in Pelosi’s office and a security video of the Capitol inside the building. They also showed images of him bragging on a megaphone to a crowd outside the Capitol for taking an envelope from the speaker’s office.
Prosecutors also mentioned concerns that Barnett had not delivered the stun gun or cell phone he took to Washington.
More:
Pa. Retired firefighter accused of firing extinguisher at US Capitol police
US House impeachment of President Donald Trump for the second time
Who was arrested for the Capitol riots? The crowd included ex-military, police