WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 An Arkansas man testified Thursday that he was 鈥済oing with the flow鈥 when he propped up his feet on a desk in then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi鈥檚 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 鈥淏igo鈥 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 鈥渁ct natural,鈥 so he lounged back in a chair and flung his legs onto the desk.
鈥淒id it dawn on you that what you were doing could cause some trouble?鈥 defense attorney Joseph McBride asked Barnett.
鈥淚 was just in the moment,鈥 Barnett replied. 鈥淚'm just kind of going with the flow at this point."
Prosecutor Michael Gordon showed an online post in which Barnett declared anyone who 鈥渄oes support the Constitution鈥 to be his enemy. Asked how well he knew the document himself, Barnett eventually acknowledged that he knew the First and Second Amendments well, but had little knowledge of others.
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 case has gone to trial.
Barnett's trial played out in the same courthouse as two other high-profile trials stemming from the riot. A jury began deliberating in the seditious conspiracy case against a second group of members of the far-right Oath Keepers. Meanwhile, a documentary filmmaker testified in the seditious conspiracy case against former Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio and four associates.
In Barnett's case, prosecutors said the 62-year-old had a stun gun tucked into his pants when he stormed the Capitol, invaded Pelosi鈥檚 office and posed for a photo that became one of the attack鈥檚 best-known images. He also took a piece of her mail and left behind a note that said, 鈥淣ancy, Bigo was here,鈥 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, 鈥淲e took back our house, and I took Nancy Pelosi鈥檚 office!鈥 according to prosecutors.
Barnett, testifying near the end of his trial, said he regrets coming to Washington for the 鈥淪top the Steal鈥 rally where then-President Donald Trump addressed a crowd of supporters.
鈥淭wo years of lost life. Misery for my family,鈥 he said.
He also expressed regret for using vulgar language in his note to Pelosi.
鈥淚 probably shouldn't have put my feet on the desk,鈥 Barnett said.
Asked by Gordon whether he regretted entering the Capitol, Barnett insisted he was swept along with the crowd.
鈥淚 do not regret getting pushed in," he 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 鈥 the stun gun with spikes concealed within a collapsible walking stick.
In opening statements for the trial, a prosecutor said Tuesday that Barnett planned the trip for weeks and came prepared for violence.
鈥淭he defendant violated that space,鈥 prosecutor Alison Prout said.
McBride told jurors on Wednesday that Barnett was just a 鈥渃razy guy from Arkansas鈥 who didn't hurt anybody on Jan. 6 and couldn't have harmed anybody with the stun gun device because it was broken that day.
鈥淲e're not asking you to approve of his actions,鈥 McBride said, calling it 鈥渢he most famous trespass case of all time."
Barnett said the crowd of Trump supporters leaving the rally was in a jovial mood as they approached the Capitol. He said he became angry after he heard a loud bang and saw what appeared to be police officers firing tear gas at the crowd.
鈥淚t flipped my world upside down," Barnett said, calling it his first experience with police brutality after years of being a firefighter. 鈥淚 went in full crisis mode."
Barnett said videos show that the crowd pushed him into the Capitol as the approached an entrance, causing him to briefly fall to his knees as he crossed the threshold.
鈥淲e have no choice!鈥 he shouted repeatedly on the video as he entered the Capitol.
Barnett said he didn't realize he had wandered into Pelosi's office until one of the photographers asked him if he knew where he was and he spotted empty envelopes with Pelosi's name on them,
After police ordered him and others to leave Pelosi's office, Barnett realized he had left his American flag behind. Body camera video captured Barnett shouting at a police officer in the Rotunda for help in retrieving the flag.
Prosecutors said Barnett had a history of arming himself at political demonstrations before the Jan. 6 attack. In July 2020, they said, a 911 caller reported that a man matching Barnett鈥檚 description had pointed a rifle at her during a 鈥淏ack the Blue鈥 rally.
鈥淟aw enforcement ultimately closed the investigation as unfounded due to unresolved apparent discrepancies in the evidence,鈥 prosecutors wrote.
In November 2020, police were called to a 鈥淪ave the Children鈥 rally when a caller said Barnett was carrying a gun at the protest and acting suspiciously.
