An Arkansas man who was photographed Jan. 6 with his feet up on a desk in the office of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took the stand as a witness in her criminal trial Thursday and said he was sorry for his actions. during the attack on the Capitol.
“I shouldn’t have put my feet up on the desk,” Richard “Bigo” Barnett told the jury while testifying in his own defense on felony riot-related charges. «At the time I thought it was funny,» he said, but now it seems «rude.»
Barnett also testified that he would apologize to Pelosi if she were present in court and said that he wishes he had never gone to the Capitol that day.
«I regret going,» he said. “It was not what I expected nor was it worth two years of lost life for me and my family.”
Images of a smiling Barnett lounging in a chair with his feet up on a desk in Pelosi’s office and a stun gun tucked into his pants became some of the most notorious images of the riots.
Barnett’s attorney, Joseph McBride, painted a picture of his client on Thursday as a man who was swept away by the crowd and had no way of turning back before being pushed toward the Capitol. Barnett testified that entering the building was «against his instincts» and compared the experience to being in a dream.
Barnett also told jurors that he had not intentionally searched Pelosi’s office. He said that he had been looking for a bathroom and that he had politely knocked on the door of the California Democrat’s office before other rioters dragged him inside.
He said he didn’t realize it was Pelosi’s office until he picked up an envelope with her name on it, which he said he did out of curiosity.
Barnett acknowledged leaving him a «nasty note». He would say, “Nancy, Bigo was here,” and end with a sexist expletive to refer to Pelosi. Barnett said he was sorry he used the word.
The regrets, however, were a far cry from Barnett’s initial reaction after leaving the Capitol, when bragged about his actions to a New York Times reporter. She told the reporter that she took an envelope from the desk and left Pelosi a quarter in return, even though «she’s not worth it.»
During cross-examination Thursday, Assistant US Attorney Michael Gordon asked Barnett if there was anything else he regretted about Jan. 6.
“I am sorry for the lack of respect that I showed the officers,” he said. «I’m sorry it all happened.»
He also denied having any knowledge at that time of the electoral vote counting process that was taking place that day in Congress.
Gordon then showed the jury a promotional image from January 6 that Barnett shared on Facebook before the riots that read: «OPERATION CAPITOL OCCUPATION.»
“I thought he was referring to the outside,” Barnett said. «I didn’t really read it closely.»
Gordon pressed Barnett to answer questions about whether he would be willing to fight his fellow Americans, the military or the police to prevent Joe Biden from taking office. Barnett gave hesitant and evasive answers, but never explicitly said no.
Gordon then presented a screenshot of a Facebook post where Barnett wrote: «Anyone, and I mean anyone, who does not support the Constitution of the United States of America is my enemy and will be treated as such.»
Barnett’s cross-examination is scheduled to resume on Friday.