The man pictured carrying off the lectern from the House chamber has been identified as Adam Christian Johnson from Florida, who has now been arrested (Picture: Getty/Reuters)
A man has been arrested and charged in Florida after an image of him apparently stealing a lectern from the U.S. Capitol building went viral on social media.
Adam Christian Johnson, 36, of Parrish, Florida, has been identified as the man who was all smiles as he made off with the souvenir from the House of Representative chambers during the pro-Trump riots on Wednesday.
Johnson was arrested on a federal warrant late Friday and booked into the Pinellas County jail, according to jail records. No bond was allowed and it was unclear Saturday if Johnson had legal representation.
He was charged Saturday with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, one count of theft of government property and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
Five people, including a Capitol Hill police officer, died in the unrest and the FBI had asked the public for help identifying participants.
A Getty photographer captured Johnson smiling and waving as he carried the lectern which belonged to house speaker Nancy Pelosi. The image became one of the most shared in the aftermath of the riots.
Johnson was quickly identified by neighbours on social media and was named by the Bradenton Herald as being from Parrish, a community about 25 miles south of Tampa.
Local reports said Johnson is a stay-at-home-dad who lives with his wife, a local physician, and their five children in their Parrish home.
In addition to the arrest of Johnson, there were at least 13 people facing criminal charges in U.S. District Court in connection to the riot, and at least another 40 people were facing lesser charges in the District of Columbia Superior Court, a local venue.
Adam Johnson carries the lecturn in an image that went viral in the aftermath of the riots (Picture: Getty)
Johnson was arrested on January 8 in connection with the US Capitol riots (Picture: Getty)
Many of those individuals were arraigned on Thursday and released, with an order from the judge not to return to Washington unless it is for court appearances or meetings with their attorneys.
They included Cleveland Meredith, who was charged with threatening Ms Pelosi as well as possession of an unregistered firearm and unregistered ammunition, and Richard Barnett, of Gravette, Arkansas, who was photographed sitting at Ms Pelosi’s desk and is also known as Bigo.
‘The shocking images of Mr. Barnett with his boots up on a desk in the speaker of the House’s office on Wednesday was repulsive’, Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen said in a statement on Friday. ‘Those who are proven to have committed criminal acts during the storming of the Capitol will face justice.’
Mr Rosen also announced on Friday that the FBI would team up with Washington’s police department to jointly investigate the death of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who was injured while defending the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday and later died in hospital.
‘Just because you’ve left the D.C. region, you can still expect a knock on the door if we find out you were part of the criminal activity at the Capitol,’ Steven D’antuono, the FBI Washington Field Office’s assistant director in charge, told reporters in a telephone news briefing.
Capitol Police have said the Washington police’s homicide unit was probing the death. Ms Pelosi on Friday ordered flags at the Capitol lowered to half-mast in honour of Mr Sicknick.
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