Richard “Bigo” Barnett, the January 6 defendant who infamously propped his feet on Nancy Pelosi’s desk, urged jurors Friday to consider his behavior the actions of a “fucking idiot” — not a criminal.
Bigo took the stand in his own defense, and things got heated with prosecutor Michael Gordon as Gordon picked apart his story.
Gordon asked Bigo if he thought he would get away with his actions because of his hubris, and Bigo responded, “I think the jury’s going to do what they want to do.”
“I’m going to suffer the consequences,” Barnett added, “but I hope they see I didn’t break the law and acted like a fucking idiot.”
Bigo contended that he climbed the steps of the Capitol to search for his two lost friends, then claimed he was “pushed” into the Capitol while surrounded by a crowd.
He said he roamed around the building merely looking for a bathroom, and found himself in Pelosi’s office suite.
The Envelope
Bigo says he got caught up in the moment and acted foolishly, posing with a letter at an aide’s desk. He took it because he bled all over it, but left a quarter to pay for it while simultaneously removing a “biohazard.”
The prosecutor told Bigo he held onto it for days before throwing it, unsealed, onto the table in his interview with the FBI. The truth is, Gordon said, Barnett took the envelope as a “trophy.”
“You don’t know the truth, sir,” Barnett shot back.
Bigo left a note on Pelosi’s desk that said, “Nancy, Bigo was here, bi-otch,” and while in jail over the January 6 crimes, Bigo attempted to have his partner copyright the phrase.
Video evidence showed Bigo waving the envelope around outside the Capitol, acting like “a f***ing idiot.”
Bigo often spoke over the prosecutor and was admonished several times by the judge. Bigo said he was “getting quite tired” of the prosecutor’s inquiries.
After a particularly tense exchange, Bigo said he had gone through hell, and that the officers there had gone through hell. “I’m struggling with this.”
Bigo’s trial began on January 10, as he faces eight charges, including obstruction of an official proceeding and theft of government property.
The case was poised to head to the jury Friday afternoon, with a verdict likely early next week.
