Jurors Hear From Man Who Propped Feet on Pelosi Office Desk

An Arkansas man testified Thursday that he was “going with the flow” when he propped up his feet on a desk in then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office, posing for photographs that made him one of the most memorable figures from the U.S. Capitol riot two years ago.

On the witness stand at his trial on riot-related charges, Richard “Bigo” Barnett said he was looking for a bathroom inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when he unwittingly entered Pelosi's office and encountered two news photographers. He said one of the photographers told him to “act natural,” so he lounged back in a chair and flung his legs onto the desk.

“Did it dawn on you that what you were doing could cause some trouble?” defense attorney Joseph McBride asked Barnett.

“I was just in the moment,” Barnett replied. “I'm just kind of going with the flow at this point."

Barnett, a retired firefighter from Gravette, Arkansas, is one of more than 900 people charged with federal crimes for their conduct at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Nearly 500 of them have pleaded guilty. Barnett is one of several dozen Capitol riot defendants whose cases have gone to trial.

Barnett, 62, had a stun gun tucked into his pants when he stormed the Capitol, invaded Pelosi’s office and posed for a photo that became one of the attack’s best-known images, prosecutors said. He also took a piece of her mail and left behind a note that said, “Nancy, Bigo was here,” prosecutors said. Barnett punctuated the message with a sexist expletive.

Before leaving Capitol grounds, Barnett used a bullhorn to give a speech to the crowd, shouting, “We took back our house, and I took Nancy Pelosi’s office!” according to prosecutors.

Barnett, testifying near the end of his trial, said he regrets coming to Washington for the “Stop the Steal” rally where then-President Donald Trump addressed a crowd of supporters.

“Two years of lost life. Misery for my family,” he said.

He also expressed regret for using vulgar language in his note to Pelosi.

“I probably shouldn't have put my feet on the desk,” Barnett said.

A grand jury indicted Barnett on eight charges, including felony counts of civil disorder and obstruction of an official proceeding. He also faces a charge of entering and remaining in restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon — the stun gun with spikes concealed within a collapsible walking stick.