WASHINGTON — Adam Johnson, the man seen smiling and waving while carrying the lectern of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a photo that went viral during the U.S. Capitol riot, will spend 75 days in prison.
He was sentenced Friday morning after entering a guilty plea of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds in November. Part of the plea agreement included Johnson turning over any profit he could make from books, articles, interviews and the like bearing his name or likeness after expressing the intent to write a book.
Johnson also will serve a year of supervised release, perform 200 hours of community service, pay a $5,000 fine and pay $500 in restitution. Prosecutors originally wanted 90 days in prison, according to CBS News citing the sentencing memo.
He had also been charged with theft of government property and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, but both charges were dismissed.
A photo of Johnson, taken by Getty Images photographer Win McNamee, was one of many that went viral during the armed insurrection of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, by supporters of then-President Donald Trump. The FBI searched for Johnson as part of a nationwide effort to find and charge those who stormed the building, according to the Bradenton Herald at the time.
“The now-viral podium photo portrays Johnson as confident, arguably gleeful, while converting government property to his own use during an unlawful siege,” The Associated Press reports a prosecutor wrote in a court filing.
The Bradenton Herald reported that Johnson is a stay-at-home dad who lives with his wife and five children. His prior criminal history includes possession of marijuana and violation of probation charges.
Johnson told U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton he bears "no ill will toward [Nancy Pelosi] or her office at all," according to AP. He said posing with her podium was a "very stupid idea."
The lectern and a gavel that was reported missing were recovered undamaged, The Washington Post reported, citing a spokesperson for the Committee on House Administration.
It was stored on the day of the Capitol attack in the Speaker's Suite, located under a staircase to the third floor of the House side of the Capitol building, the FBI said. A day later, the lectern was found in a corridor on the Senate side of the building.
One of Johnson's lawyers, Dan Eckhart, had acknowledged the photograph of him may present a problem defending in court.
"I don't know how else to explain that, but yeah, that would be a problem. I'm not a magician, and neither is Mr. [David] Bigney. So yeah, we have a photograph of our client, who appears to be in a federal building or inside the Capitol with government property," Eckhart said.