'Lectern Guy' expected to plead guilty to Capitol riot charges

Florida man who took lectern from Capitol takes plea deal

Gloria Gomez reports

PARRISH, Fla. - Adam Johnson, from Parrish, will always be known as ‘The Lectern Guy.’ The accused Capitol rioter smiled and waved while walking off with the speaker’s lectern and appearing gleeful about it.

Johnson, who was arrested days after his picture went viral, now wants to plead guilty.

Last time we saw Johnson, he was in federal court in Tampa, being released on bond with an ankle monitor.

Johnson is still facing several federal charges that include trespassing, theft, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. His attorney agreed early on that the picture of Johnson carrying the lectern would be a "problem."

"I don’t know how else to explain that," David Bigny offered back in January. "Yeah, we’ve got a photograph of our client with what appears to be inside a public building, inside the Capitol, on government property."

Johnson will be in front of a federal judge in Washington D.C. in two weeks and will agree to a plea offer that could send him to prison.

A pro-Trump protester, later identified by investigators as Adam Johnson, carries the lectern of U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi through the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol Building. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

He's in the same legal mess as accused rioter Robert Palmer from Clearwater. His attorney, Bjorn Brunvand, says this incident will always be a part of him.

"It’s not going to go away and it going to have a negative impact on him for the rest of his life," said Brunvand.

Federal prosecutors say Palmer can be seen in a distinctive American flag jacket spraying Capitol police with a fire extinguisher and then then throwing the canister at officers.

Brunvand says his client regrets what he did that day.

In October, Palmer pleaded guilty to his involvement to the Capitol riot and now the fates of both Bay Area men will be up to a judge.

Johnson’s plea hearing is set for November 22, 2021. Details of the offer could be revealed at that date.