Rioter Seen in Pelosi Office Released

Richard Barnett got his wish. The man photographed sitting at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's desk during the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol has been released on bond almost four months after his arrest, and nearly two months after an outburst in court over his continued detention. A judge had refused to release him at the end of January, after he referred to himself as a nationalist prepared for violent death and tried to get rid of his phone, guns, and clothes, per the Washington Post. US District Judge Christopher R. Cooper ordered his release Tuesday, however, following a ruling in the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. A panel of judges had approved the release of a mother and son, who allegedly brought a stun gun and plastic handcuffs into the Capitol, per the Toronto Star. The panel noted that without the mob, such nonviolent people "seemingly would have posed little threat."

Cooper said the ruling could be applied to 60-year-old Barnett of Gravette, Ark, who also carried a stun gun. Cooper ordered that Barnett—charged with entering and remaining in restricted building grounds without authority, violent entry, disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, and theft of public property—be held on conditional home confinement with electronic monitoring. "Consider this a test," Cooper said. Barnett's lawyer tells WREG that the defendant "should be back to his home in Gravette by the end of this week." He'll be wearing an ankle monitor, won't be able to travel more than 50 miles from his home, and cannot associate with anyone involved in the insurrection. He will also be required to surrender his passport and any firearms. The Post notes he may be offered a six- or seven-year sentence as part of a plea deal. (More Capitol riot stories.)