As a federal jury in Washington D.C. began deliberating his fate on eight Jan. 6 criminal charges, defendant Richard “Bigo” Barnett filed a motion for a mistrial on Jan. 20, arguing that prosecutors charged him with obstructing a non-existent proceeding because Congress has no role under the law to “certify” results of a presidential election.
Barnett, 62, of Gravette, Arkansas, is on trial for his alleged actions inside the U.S. Capitol. He became one of the faces of Jan. 6 when a photograph of him with his foot on a desk in the office of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) went viral.
Barnett is charged with four felonies and four misdemeanors, ranging from obstruction of an official proceeding and civil disorder to attempting to obstruct a police officer and entering a restricted building with a dangerous or deadly weapon….