DOJ seeks 90-day prison term for Capitol rioter photographed with Pelosi’s lectern

A January 6th defendant who bragged that he “broke the internet” and was “finally famous” when a photo of him carrying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lectern during the Capitol riot went viral should spend 90 days in federal prison, according Justice Department prosecutors argued ahead of his sentencing.

Adam Johnson, who is a stay-at-home dad from Florida, was photographed carrying Pelosi’s lectern in the Capitol rotunda during the riot. He’s scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton on Friday morning.

Federal prosecutors, in a sentencing memo filed Friday, argue that the father-of-five showed a “sense of entitlement and privilege” with his actions during the riot and that the viral photograph “portrays Johnson as confident, arguably gleeful, while converting government property to his own use during an unlawful siege of the Capitol.”

The government has requested a sentence of 90 days imprisonment followed by one year parole, a $5,000 fine, $500 in restitution and 60 hours of community service. 

They pointed out that Johnson’s wife is a doctor, and the family’s “financial situation is so favorable that Johnson has not had to work for the past 11 years,” so he should also be able to afford a significant fine.

Johnson’s attorneys, in a statement to NBC News, says he “deeply regrets his participation in the breach of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.” His legal team argues his “life-changing decision” to enter the Capitol has “negatively impacted his family” and have asked the court to “consider the significant and negative impact that incarceration would have on his sons.”

They also argued that prosecutors wouldn’t be considering jail time if he had been photographed with any other piece of Capitol furniture. “Unfortunately, he received considerable attention simply because the lectern belonged to Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi,” Johnson’s attorneys wrote.