Defense attorneys for a Gravette man charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the nation’s Capitol seem to think the deadly riots were funny.
WUSA9’s Jordan Fischer has been covering parts of Richard “Bigo” Barnett‘s trial in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
In a tweet today, Fischer wrote that “the defense attorneys seem to be enjoying themselves at least. They’ve been laughing openly at the government’s exhibits about Barnett. No laughs from the jury so far.”
In Richard Barnett's trial, the defense attorneys seem to be enjoying themselves at least. They've been laughing openly at the government's exhibits about Barnett. No laughs from the jury so far.
Cross-examination of the lead FBI case agent begins shortly.
— Jordan Fischer (@JordanOnRecord) January 18, 2023
Also today, Fischer reported on this jailhouse call in which Barnett was heard already planning a way to profit off the Capitol riot.
In another example of the defense team’s lighthearted approach, defense attorney Joe McBride argued at one point that the Jan. 6 Capitol conflagration boosted the local economy, Fischer reported.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported earlier that Barnett, 62, is expected to testify in his own defense. The newspaper also reported that an FBI agent testified Tuesday that Barnett propped his feet on a desk when meeting with agents in Bentonville and said, “Does this look familiar?”
Barnett was referring to a picture in which he posed with one of his feet propped on a desk in then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi‘s office during the Jan. 6 riot.
Barnett is charged with eight offenses, including theft of government property, entering the Capitol with a dangerous weapon, a stun gun; and obstruction of an official government proceeding: Congress’s meeting to certify the Electoral College vote count showing Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election.
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