A Jan. 6 rioter pardoned by President Donald Trump tried to silence a child he’s accused of molesting by allegedly promising money from a reparations payment he claims was coming his way, according to a report.
Andrew Paul Johnson was arraigned last month in a Florida court on multiple charges, including molesting a child as young as 11 years old, and investigators said he promised one of his victims some of the compensation Trump has suggested should be paid to those convicted for their roles in the U.S. Capitol attack, reported The Intercept.
“Johnson claimed he was entitled to $10 million as part of reparations for his January 6 arrest, according to a police report from a Hernando County Sheriff’s Department detective,” the outlet reported. “Johnson said he would put the victim in his will to receive any of the money left after his death. Police believed this was done to keep the child from ‘exposing what Andrew had done,’ according to the arrest report, which was filed in court.”
Trump and some of the rioters have floated the idea of compensation for their prosecutions, although none of those convicted and later pardoned on the president’s first day back in office have received any reparations yet.
The 44-year-old Johnson pleaded guilty in spring 2024 to violently entering the Capitol and disorderly conduct, and unsuccessfully attempted to reverse his plea months later.
Two police reports describe Johnson’s alleged sex crimes against the child of his now ex-girlfriend and a friend of that child, and he was arrested Aug. 26 near Nashville, Tennessee, and extradited the Florida.
The right-wing Gateway Pundit website ran a June 2024 story about Johnson, who became a prominent member of the Jan. 6 online community, ahead of his sentencing that described him as a “single father” who was “on the brink of homelessness,” and it uncritically presented his conspiracy theories about agent provocateurs in the crowd and encouraged readers to donate money to him.
“I have had no contact with him since just after his pardon for J6,” said Jenn Baker of CondemnedUSA, who conducted the interview with Johnson, when asked for comment by The Intercept about his latest arrest. “I’m completely disgusted and horrified at these charges and, if he is proven to be guilty, I support any punishment he receives.”
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