The man photographed carrying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lectern out of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday has been identified and arrested. Adam Johnson, 36, was picked up by police in Parrish, Manatee County, Florida, on Friday, according to a report by Newsweek. He remains in jail on a U.S. Marshall’s warrant.
The local newspaper identified Johnson, The Bradenton Herald, after a photo of him smiling in the smashed U.S. Capitol building went viral. In it, he carried the Speaker’s lectern over his shoulder alongside other looters and rioters. Like the others, Johnson was somehow able to freely walk away from the scene, yet police finally caught up with him on Friday night and booked him in a Pinellas County jail at around 9 p.m. ET. It is unclear what charges he might face.
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Local reporters discovered that Johnson is married to a physician in Florida and that he has five children. Local records show that Johnson is a registered voter but has no party affiliation and that before the 2020 presidential election, the last time he voted was in 2004.
Johnson might have been caught with the help of informants back home, who recognized him on the news. Allan Mestel told WFLA News Channel 8 that he was an acquaintance of Johnson and that he used the FBI tip line to report his identity.
“I felt a little disassociated for a minute. It was almost like, it was surreal. I mean it was surreal. I wasn’t surprised, but I was shocked,” Mestel said. “Couldn’t believe it, the fact that I recognize somebody from our hometown, was, I was floored.”
The FBI is relying heavily on such tips from civilians even as questions continue to circulate about why these rioters were allowed to leave the nation’s capitol with no consequences. By Friday, the bureau had reportedly arrested 82 people in total. The assistant director of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Steven D’Antuono, told reporters that more arrests are coming soon.
“Just because you left the D.C. region, you can still expect a knock on the door if we find out that you were part of the criminal activity at the Capitol,” D’Antuono said.
Rioters were spurred by President Donald Trump‘s speech at a rally directly beforehand and believed that they were acting on his direct instructions. Some reportedly intended to find and execute other leaders like Pelosi Vice President Mike Pence. They also compromised assets and information that was believed to have been secure. The international intelligence implications are still being sorted out.
