Once contrite, Jan. 6 rioters embrace notoriety as public opinion shifts

Adam Johnson sounded apologetic when he stood before a federal judge in Washington, D.C.

The Florida man had been famously photographed smiling and waving as he toted a lectern bearing the seal of the U.S. House of Representatives through the Capitol rotunda, becoming an iconic face of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.

"I'm ashamed to have been a part of it," Johnson told the judge.

Almost two years later, the Manatee County man wrote on the social platform X, formerly known as Twitter: "I've felt more guilt about leaving the toilet seat up at the airport than I do about J6."

To his more than 65,000 followers, "The Lectern Guy" beams in photos that feature his famous image. He auctions handmade miniature wooden lecterns, touts a kinship with fellow Jan. 6 defendants and dismisses the notion that they did anything wrong.

More than 1,400 people who were charged with crimes related to the Capitol riot are having something of a moment. A redemption is underway legally, politically and culturally that is voiding, forgiving — and even celebrating — their crimes.

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that prosecutors had overstepped in using a federal obstruction law to charge hundreds in those cases. This week, justices ruled that former presidents have absolute immunity from prosecution for official acts, which could absolve former President Donald Trump in his failed attempt to overturn the 2020 election.

As Trump's presidential bid looks increasingly promising and public opinion polls show softening attitudes about the Capitol attack, particularly among Republicans, political scientists and extremism researchers have noted how some thought leaders have pushed the culture from condemnation of Jan. 6 to acceptance.

"With that shift some of the defendants in these Jan. 6-related cases, I think, have sensed a type of opportunity to achieve some level of notoriety or sympathy," said Jared Holt, a senior research analyst with the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, an organization that studies extremism.

In a phone call last month with the Tampa Bay Times, Johnson downplayed the sincerity of his posts on X, saying that much of what he writes online is meant to be sarcastic.

Still, he acknowledged a real sense of grievance. He said he believes people like him have been treated too harshly, especially compared to other criminal defendants.

"I'm not asking for special treatment," he said. "I'm asking for fair treatment."

A shift in public opinion Judges have routinely condemned the Capitol riot and warned against normalizing the event.

Yet three years after the attack, public opinions have changed considerably about what happened that day.

A Washington Post-University of Maryland survey in December found that slightly more than half of American adults said they believed that what happened on Jan. 6 was an attack on democracy and should never be forgotten. Among Republican voters, however, only 24% agreed with that assessment while 72% said that they believe too much had been made of the attack.

The same survey found 36% of respondents believed President Joe Biden's election victory was illegitimate. That was up 7 percentage points from two years ago.

Mike Hanmer, director of the Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement at the University of Maryland, said the results underscore the extreme polarization afflicting modern American politics.

"I definitely think this does speak to the overall health of our system and our society," Hanmer said. "I think if political violence is normalized then we're going to see things play out differently going forward."

While some Republicans condemn the Capitol attack, others have made Jan. 6 a cause. That includes Trump.

The former president has referred to those incarcerated as "hostages" and "unbelievable patriots." As he seeks another term, Trump has said he may pardon at least some of the rioters who sought to keep him in power despite his election loss.

Jacob Chansley, widely known as Q-Anon Shaman and another prominent face of the riot, launched a short-lived run for Congress in Arizona.

Derrick Evans, a former West Virginia lawmaker, told a judge at his sentencing that he'd made a "crucial mistake" by participating in the riot. Less than a year later, having finished a three-month sentence, Evans launched an unsuccessful campaign for Congress. On X, he portrayed himself as a "patriot," and called the Jan. 6 prosecutions a "miscarriage of justice."

Yet another Capitol rioter who expressed shame at his sentencing, Elias Irizarry, recently launched a campaign for the South Carolina Legislature. The New York Times reported that Irizarry's campaign website initially mentioned his involvement in the riot as proof that he "has always stood for the conservative movement." The reference to Jan. 6 later disappeared from the website, the Times reported.

While organized groups like the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers saw their leadership decimated after Jan. 6, extremism researchers say the legitimization of that event broadens the risk of future extremist violence.

"It's important for leaders and people on the right to speak out in advance of that sort of thing," said Mark Pitcavage, a researcher with the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism. "Because those voices have an impact."

Embracing the riot But for the famous photo of Johnson gleefully hoisting the lectern inside the Capitol rotunda, his case likely wouldn't have received much notice among the hundreds of Jan. 6 prosecutions. He wasn't accused of any violence.

Arrested within days of the riot, Johnson later pleaded guilty to a trespassing charge.

At sentencing, he told U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton he feared that the country was heading toward a civil war. He called taking the lectern a "very stupid idea."

The judge recommended that Johnson read some books about civil wars and lamented a highly partisan political culture that was "ripping the country apart." He ordered Johnson to serve 75 days in prison, pay a $5,000 fine and $500 restitution.

Johnson's tweets began not long after he left prison two years ago. He soon gained a following.

When he reached 40,000 followers, he posted a video of himself delivering a mock award acceptance speech. He held a miniature lectern with a sign that featured a silhouette of his famous pose and the words "take a stand."

"To the judge," he says, "who helped me understand what happens to families who are incarcerated unjustly, for sentences that make no sense whatsoever. You helped me understand just how awful, awful, the political persecution has become."

His feed is loaded with callbacks to his famous photo.

Last month, he posted a photo of himself beside a lectern and a large hanging portrait of his famous image mounted on a white horse. While clutching a toy gun, he wore a cap with a white silhouette of the same image, and a tank top proclaiming "It's only treason if you lose."

"Come and take it," reads his caption.

A Pennsylvania couple, Philip Vogel and Debra Maimone, who were also prosecuted for their presence at the riot, asked Johnson to preside over their wedding. In one postwedding photo, Johnson posed with the couple while wearing the Trump cap he wore in the famous lectern image.

Johnson has followed with keen interest the case of Patrick Scruggs. A former federal prosecutor in Tampa, Scruggs was arrested last year on charges that he stabbed a man in the arm in what was described as a road rage incident on the Howard Frankland Bridge.

Scruggs was the prosecutor who handled Johnson's first court appearance in 2021.

In June, Johnson recorded a video on his way to attend a routine court hearing in Scruggs' case.

"This is the beginning of the end for him," he said, beaming from behind a car steering wheel. "It's not very often we get to see karma in our own lifetimes."

In the courtroom later, he snapped a photo of Scruggs from behind. He recorded another video as he strolled away from the courthouse. He told followers about a lawyer's concerns over pretrial publicity in Scruggs' case.

"Every single J-6er out here has had the news drag all of them through the mud," Johnson said. "There has been no unbiased juries for any of us. So I'm not going to stop. As a matter of fact, I think I'm going to make this my new thing."

Johnson later noted to a Times reporter that Scruggs was not subjected to the same pretrial release conditions. Johnson had a nightly curfew and wore an ankle monitor while his case was pending.

"They handled him with kid gloves and they threw the book at me because I was smiling and waving," he said. "This is not what justice looks like."

He said he intends to watch Scruggs' case as it moves through court.

He spoke of Jan. 6 defendants being "oversentenced." He asserted that 95% of the rioters were "nonviolent protesters."

Asked if he regrets what he did on Jan. 6, Johnson said he had "no comment on that."