SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
- Richard "Bigo" Barnett was photographed in Speaker Pelosi's office during the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
- Now, the Capitol riot attendee is sending supporters a signed version of the infamous photo to raise money.
- A fundraising website in Barnett's name details is asking "patriotic" supporters to help fund his legal defense.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
An Arkansas man arrested and charged in connection with the Capitol attack is offering a unique "token of his appreciation" to supporters who help financially support his legal defense fund.
Richard "Bigo" Barnett, a self-described white nationalist who posed for a now-infamous photo in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office during the January 6 insurrection, is offering an autographed version of the notorious photo in exchange for contributions of $100 or more, according to a "bigobarnett" fundraising website.
The site is called "Richard 'Bigo' Barnett Legal Defense Fund" and details "The Trial of Richard Barnett," and "The Fight for America's Soul." A section on the website dedicated to "Learn about the Man" says more information is coming soon.
Barnett was arrested in January and indicted on several federal charges, including violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds; knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building without lawful authority; and theft of public money, property, or records.
A judge granted him pretrial release in April after his lawyers filed a new request for bail, arguing that in a note he left on Pelosi's desk during the riot, he called her a "biatch" instead of a bitch, which his defense team argued was "less offensive."
In the filing, Barnett's defense team accused federal prosecutors of misquoting the defendant's note to Pelosi in a "deliberate attempt to mislead the court."
At a subsequent hearing, a federal judge said he believed Barnett to be potentially dangerous, noting the defendant's attempts to avoid arrest following the attack, but acknowledged that the Justice Department had not provided enough evidence to keep him in jail ahead of his trial.
According to the website, for contributions of $25 or more, Barnett will "email you a copy of his court filing that resulted in his release."
Barnett is asking for donations from "America's Patriots" for both his legal fight and his family expenses and bills, according to the website.
"...the DOJ will stop at nothing in order to bleed Richard Barnett's family and defense team dry, because it knows that Barnett will win at trial," the website says. "Do not let this happen!"
Barnett reportedly needs financial support after losing his job as a "top salesman" at a company where he worked for more than fifteen years. According to the website, Barnett was fired because of "public pressure" after his arrest.
Robert Steinbuch, a law professor at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock, told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that the fundraiser is likely legal since Barnett has not been convicted of any crime.
Defense attorneys for Barnett did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
The website alleges that GoFundMe refused to allow him to raise money on the site.
According to the website, Barnett "admits that he ended up in Speaker Pelosi's office, put his feet up on one of the desks, smiled for the reporter's camera, and left her a non-threatening note…" but believes his actions were not criminal, but instead, a form of political protest.
The website also alleges that Barnett was "regularly roughed up by prison guards" and held in solitary confinement "for long periods of time" during his pretrial detention.
"Contribute today to Richard's family and show the world that poverty should not be the penalty for patriotism," the website says. "For this is only the beginning of a long fight with the federal prosecutors!"
from Business Insider https://ift.tt/34CTXZZ
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