Capitol rioter who made off with Pelosi's lectern is sentenced to 75 days in prison

A Florida stay-at-home father-of-five who appeared in a now-iconic photograph carrying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lectern during the January 6 US Capitol insurrection was sentenced on Friday to 75 days in prison. 

US District Court Judge Reggie Walton also imposed a $5,000 and 200 hours of community service on Adam Johnson, saying that a ‘message has to be sent.’ 

Johnson, 37, who lives in Tampa and is married to a doctor, apologized for his actions and asked for leniency before the judge announced his sentence, which is one of the harshest yet for a misdemeanor related to the riots. 

‘I am ashamed to have been a part of it,’ Johnson told the judge during Friday’s hearing. 

Stay-at-home dad Adam Johnson, 37, who stole Nancy Pelosi’s podium during the Capitol riot, on Friday was sentenced to 75 days in prison, a $5,000 fine and 200 hours of community service (Pictured: The now-viral photograph of Johnson carrying Pelosi’s lectern)

Prosecutors said Johnson was ‘not a mere tourist’ but rather ‘part of a mob.’ He is pictured in front of a Capitol sign

He also claimed that had he come across Speaker Pelosi on the day of the insurrection, he would have asked her for a photograph.

‘If I did find her, I would ask for a selfie with her, if anything,’ Johnson said. 

Johnson, who has five sons between the ages of 6 and 14, pleaded guilty in November 2021 to entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds. 

The rioter, who previously bragged that he ‘broke the internet’ and was ‘finally famous,’ insisted that he has been cooperative with the federal investigation and did nothing to conceal evidence. 

Prosecutors asked the judge to sentence Johnson to 90 days in prison.

‘He wasn’t a mere tourist,’ Assistant US Attorney Jessica Arco told the court. ‘He was part of a mob that, in his own words, was trying to overthrow the government.’

Arco played a video recording from the Capitol, showing Johnson trying to open a door of what he thought was Pelosi’s office. 

Johnson (circled in red during the riot) apologized for his actions, saying he felt ‘ashamed,’ and asked for leniency in light of his cooperation 

Johnson entered the Senate Wing with other protesters (left) and was seen in a smoke-filled hallway (right) after the rioters attempted to breach the House Chamber

In a sentencing memo filed ahead of Friday’s hearing, prosecutors argued that Johnson showed a ‘sense of entitlement and privilege.’ In arguing for a ‘substantial fine,’ they noted that Johnson and his wife, who is a doctor, are in a ‘financial situation so favorable that [he] has not had to work for the past 11 years.’

Johnson will receive credit for time served, which will reduce his sentence to about 60 days. 

The FBI has made more than 740 arrests in connection to the January 6 insurrection during which hundreds of supporters of former President Donald Trump attempted to block congressional certification of President Joe Biden’s November 2020 election victory by storming the Capitol. 

Five people died the day of the riot, including Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick. 

There are still more than 350 people wanted by the FBI in connection to the attack. 

Federal investigators estimate the total number of people who could be charged is more than 2,500.