Jan 6 rioter who stole Pelosi's lectern sentenced

The infamous Jan. 6 rioter who stole House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's lectern during the chaotic scene at the Capitol was sentenced Friday by a federal judge.

In presiding over the trial, United States District Judge Reggie Walton reportedly drew a comparison between the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol and the unfolding war in Ukraine. The alleged comparison, used to highlight the severity of the accused's crime, was directed at the actions of Jan. 6 defendant Adam Johnson, of Florida.

Lest the severity of an attempt to steal Pelosi's speaking podium be lost on the courtroom audience, the judge made sure his reasoning was clear as he handed down Johnson's sentence late last week. Walton suggested that the United States was in a clear downslide—a decline that, unless addressed, could create a hostile cultural divide wide enough to rival the conflict in Ukraine.

"That's what we see in countries, like what we're experiencing now in Ukraine. That's where we're headed if we don't do anything to stop it," Walton said.

Walton called the attack on the Capitol something you would expect to see in a "banana republic." Johnson's theft of a lectern, Walton concluded, would invariably lead the United States toward that undesirable end if left unpunished.

Johnson received a sentence of 75 days in jail, 200 hours of community service, and received a $5,000 fine after having pled guilty to one count of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds. Johnson had already served 15 days behind bars, which will bring down his remaining time to 60 days.

In court, Johnson maintained that he had not meant to threaten Pelosi or otherwise harm her by stealing her lectern. He mentioned that he might have asked her for a selfie, "if anything," had he encountered her on Jan. 6, 2021.