House Speaker Nancy Pelosi‘s lecturn has returned to its usual spot in the U.S. Capitol, one week after it was almost carried off as President Donald Trump‘s supporters stormed the building.
The lectern, or podium, was wheeled by an aide through Statuary Hall in the Capitol on Wednesday in preparation for Pelosi’s press conference on impeachment proceedings against Trump.
After the January 6 riot, the lectern was found abandoned in a hallway after one of the rioters tried to haul away and posed for a jovial photograph during the attack.
Nevertheless, Florida man Adam Christian Johnson, 36, was charged with theft of government property in the incident, along with entering a restricted building and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lecturn has returned to its usual spot in the U.S. Capitol, one week after it was carried off as President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the building
A lectern belonging to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is moved through Statuary Hall for a news conference Wednesday. The news conference is scheduled after a vote on an article of impeachment against President Donald Trump
Adam Johnson, 36, of Parrish, Florida, faces felony charges after he was seen carrying House Speaker House Nancy Pelosi’s lectern through the U.S. Capitol on January 6
The photo of Johnson — smiling, waving and wearing a Trump hat — carrying the wooden podium under his arm as he wandered the halls of Congress quickly became one of the most emblematic images of the day.
Johnson was arrested on Friday in Florida and is free on bail
Pelosi’s lectern had another moment in the spotlight Wednesday evening when she used it during an engrossment ceremony, signing an article of impeachment against Trump.
In her brief remarks at the ceremony, Pelosi did not address the return of the stolen lectern.
Johnson was arrested by federal marshals in Florida on Friday and is currently free on $25,000 bail.
Speaking to reporters after his release on Monday, Johnson’s lawyers said that the photo of him walking out of the Capitol building smiling and waving to cameras with Pelosi’s lectern presents a legal a challenge for them.
‘I don’t know how else to explain that, but yeah that would be a problem,’ attorney Dan Eckhart said.
‘I’m not a magician…so yeah we’ve got a photograph of our client who appears to be inside the federal building with government property,’ he added according to WFLA.
In a later interview, Eckhart and his colleague David Bigney argued that Johnson was in Washington DC to ‘witness history’ and said, ‘You always can’t judge a book by its cover.’
‘He is a family man. His wife is a physician. He has five children. There is nothing in his background or his past that would attribute any type of violence or this type of rebellious behavior to him. It is an anomaly, an unusual situation for him,’ Eckhart told CNN.
‘He wasn’t involved in any coup. He wasn’t involved in any planning of any entering of the Capitol. Things got out of hand. You saw the pictures. He was not there for any destruction, any treason. He was just there to witness history,’ Bigney added.
An aide wheels Pelosi’s lectern through Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. The lectern was found on January 7 by a member of the Senate staff in the Red corridor of the Senate wing off the Rotunda in the Capitol building
Pelosi’s lectern stands at the ready ahead of her press conference at the Capitol on Wednesday. It is worth more than $1,000, according to the House of Representatives’ curator
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi speaks at the podium during an engrossment ceremony after the US House of Representatives voted to impeach Trump for a second time in Washington DC on Wednesday
When asked if they were worried about the future of Johnson’s case, the lawyers said they were confident they could defend Johnson.
‘Well, we’re not worried because this is the initial stage as you know. We just got him out today. There’s more to this story and you’ll be one of the first to know as the case evolves,’ Eckhart said.
Johnson has not yet entered a plea to the charges, which were filed in Washington.
The lectern he was seen carrying was later found on January 7 by a member of the Senate staff in the Red corridor of the Senate wing off the Rotunda in the Capitol building.
It is worth more than $1,000, according to the House of Representatives’ curator.
Under the conditions of his release, Johnson is forced to wear a GPS tracker on his ankle, must abide by a 9pm to 6am curfew, surrender his passport and firearms, and is restricted from traveling outside Central Florida.
