The picture had gone around the world. It shows a man, seated in the office seat of the elected Democrat Nancy Pelosi, one foot on the table, during the storming of the Capitol, in Washington by supporters of Donald Trump, unhappy with the certification in progress of the result of the American presidential election giving Joe Biden the winner.

But this photo also allowed the police to quickly arrest the perpetrator, Richard Barnett, 63, who was sentenced on Wednesday May 24 to four and a half years in prison. According to the indictment, this supporter of the Qanon conspiracy movement had left an insulting message to the head of the House of Representatives at the time, and stole, during these riots of January 6, 2021, an envelope that she had signed.

In early 2023, the retired Arkansas firefighter was tried in federal court in Washington and found guilty of, among other things, “obstructing official process”, “theft” and “intrusion into an official building with a dangerous weapon”, in this case a walking stick capable of sending out electric shocks.

During his trial, the 60-year-old was defiant, claiming to have been “pushed inside” the Capitol by the crowd. He told the judge that joining the riot was “an enigma of [his] life” that he regretted, but that prosecutors wanted him to feel “remorse for things that [he didn’t] done “.

“We took back our house”

For their part, the prosecutors pointed out, in an indictment sent to the judge before the sentencing, that he showed no regrets and “sought to capitalize on his notoriety”, by trying to sell copies of the famous autographed photo for 100 dollars (about 93 euros). Before leaving the Capitol compound, he reportedly used a megaphone to declare to the crowd, “We’ve taken over our house, and I’ve taken over Nancy Pelosi’s office,” according to prosecutors.

Mr Barnett’s lawyer said his client did not harm anyone or damage property and was singled out because the photo made him famous. “Mr. Barnett should not be punished because the government thinks he is a symbol,” he said.

More than a thousand people have been arrested since the attack and almost 300 sentenced to prison terms, with a maximum of 14 years for a man who already had a long criminal record.

Also on Wednesday, a Pennsylvania man was sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of assault and other charges during the riot. On Thursday, it will be the turn of the founder of the far-right militia Oath Keepers, Stewart Rhodes, to be fixed on his sentence and he could receive a much heavier sentence. In November, he was convicted of “sedition,” a rare and serious charge, and prosecutors have requested 25 years in prison.