All through the late afternoon, rioters repeatedly emerged from the Capitol bearing trophies that that they had stolen. Just a few carried “Space C
All through the late afternoon, rioters repeatedly emerged from the Capitol bearing trophies that that they had stolen. Just a few carried “Space Closed” indicators that that they had grabbed after which stormed previous. However it was something taken from Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s workplace that was particularly well-liked with the gang.
One individual emerged holding up a chunk of a wood plaque that marked the doorway to Ms. Pelosi’s workplace, which somebody appeared to have torn off a wall. The rioter held it up like a trophy, as a whole lot of individuals on the steps beneath cheered wildly. “Not our speaker!” shouted one girl. “Get her out!” shouted one other man.
Richard Bigo Barnett, 60, from Gravette, Ark., stood outdoors the Capitol, his shirt ripped open and his chest bared to the chilly, loudly bragging about how he had damaged into the speaker’s workplace.
“I wrote her a nasty observe, put my toes up on her desk,” mentioned Mr. Barnett, who goes by the nickname Bigo. He was brandishing an envelope with the speaker’s letterhead that he had taken from Ms. Pelosi’s workplace. He insisted he had not stolen it — “I put 1 / 4 on her desk.”
Mr. Barnett continued: When the police got here in with pepper spray, “I mentioned, ‘I paid for this, it’s mine, and I left.’” His face was puffy from being hit with pepper spray, however he was laughing as he entertained fellow protesters along with his story.
His account was backed up by an image later posted on social media that confirmed Mr. Barnett sitting at Ms. Pelosi’s desk along with his toes up, simply as he had described.
Mr. Barnett insisted that he had simply been knocking on the door when he was pushed in by the gang. It was a narrative he knew nobody would purchase. “I’ll in all probability be telling them that is what occurred all the best way to the D.C. jail,” Mr. Barnett mentioned.