A pardoned Jan. 6 rioter who went viral after he was photographed hauling then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s lectern around the ravaged US Capitol building announced he is running for office — on the fifth anniversary of the harrowing rampage.
Adam Johnson, a 41-year-old father of five sons, is campaigning as a “conservative fighter” for Manatee County’s at-large commissioner seat, according to his campaign website.
Johnson is better known as the “Lectern guy” after he was photographed grinning while carrying Pelosi’s podium around the US Capitol during the Jan. 6 riots. When he made it to the Capitol Rotunda, he planted it in the center of the room and pretended to make a fake speech, prosecutors said.
He pleaded guilty to entering and remaining in a restricted building or ground, a misdemeanor that landed him 75 days in federal prison, plus a $5,000 fine and 200 hours of community service.
During his sentencing, Johnson admitted posing with Pelosi’s lectern was a “very stupid idea,” but showed no remorse in the immediate aftermath.
While he was driving home from Washington, DC, Johnson boasted about how he “broke the internet” and was “finally famous,” prosecutors said during his speedy trial.
“I walked into a building, I took a picture with a piece of furniture, and I left,” Johnson told CBS News.
The Jan. 6 rioters pushed past metal barriers and Capitol police before they shattered reinforced glass windows and doors to forcibly enter the US Capitol while the 2020 presidential election votes were being certified inside.
Some came prepared with weapons, including pepper spray and baseball bats, and chanted various threats of violence against members of Congress — including calls for former Vice President Mike Pence to be hanged.
By the time President Trump pardoned the rioters at the beginning of his second term, Johnson had already completed his sentence. He didn’t lose any of his rights, including his ability to serve in public office, because he was convicted of a misdemeanor crime, not a felony.
Johnson told WWSB that filing to run on Jan. 6, 2026 was “not a coincidence” and was “good for getting the buzz out there.”
Johnson’s campaign website is riddled with complaints as he’s grown “tired of watching MAGA principles get ignored at the local level.”
“He’s running because conservatives deserve leadership that actually fights for them. Real conservative leadership that exposes corruption, protects taxpayers, and puts residents over special interests. Adam can’t be bought. He can’t be bullied. And he won’t back down from exposing corruption wherever he finds it,” his website reads.
Johnson told the outlet that his psychology degree makes him the perfect person to “deal with crazy people” and cited his church work as a hallmark of political preparedness.
Another Jan. 6 alum, Jake Lang, is running for Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s vacant US Senate seat in Florida. He was charged with assaulting an officer, civil disorder and other crimes before he was pardoned by Trump.
Three other convicted Jan. 6 rioters tried, and failed, to run for Congress in 2024 as Republicans.
Convicted felons lose their right to vote, but nothing impedes them from running for federal office. Restrictions can still be implemented at state-level offices, depending on the state’s laws.
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