(PresidentialHill.com)- Tuesday marked the beginning of the opening comments and trial testimony for the Arkansas man shown on camera with his foot propped up on a desk in the office of Nancy Pelosi, the then-House Speaker, on January 6, 2021, during the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
According to the prosecution, the widely circulated photo showing Richard “Bigo” Barnett lazily sitting behind a desk in Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) office does not accurately depict all the offenses he committed that day. Authorities said that Barnett, of Gravette, Arkansas, entered the Capitol with a 950,000-volt stun pistol, left a message for Pelosi in her office, and grabbed some official mail on his way out.
He was charged with eight counts, including obstructing a legal process and stealing from the government.
“‘My nation will not become socialist as long as I am around to fight,'” Barnett had posted on Facebook in the weeks preceding January 6, according to assistant US attorney Alison Prout.
Due in large part to the image of him in Pelosi’s office, Barnett, 62, is one of the most well-known defendants to go on trial in relation to the violence on January 6. In 2021, he launched a campaign to assist him with his legal costs related to the trial; in return for at least $100, Barnett said he would provide a signed photo of him in the speaker’s office.
Prout explained what the prosecution thinks Barnett did during the attempted uprising in her opening statement to the 12 jurors and two alternates.
She stated he was carrying a stun gun that was hidden within a metal walking stick and had sharp spikes that could be used to stab or shock someone. Prout reported that Barnett also left a message with a suspected expletive: “Hey Nancy, Bigo was here, b——,” according to the note.
The defense decided to postpone their opening statement, which means they will make it later in the trial when they start presenting their argument.
Emily Berret, a staff member in Pelosi’s office on January 6, was the first witness the prosecution called. She detailed to the jury sprinting with Pelosi out of the House chamber toward safety while requesting that the rest of Pelosi’s staff retreat to a safe place.
According to Berret’s testimony, there were numerous delicate items on the ground where Barnett stepped, including a business card with Pelosi’s work phone number.
According to Berret, a deluge of strange calls started coming in after that picture of him was uploaded to Twitter.
The trial is expected to go on for the rest of the week.
