On January 6, 2021, photojournalist Saul Loeb was working for the newswire service
Agence France-Presse, assigned to document the joint session of Congress. Upon arriving at the Capitol that morning, Loeb noted "security postures were the same as any typical day on Capitol Hill — which was a little surprising, given how many people were in town for the
Trump rally, and knowing that they were going to come to the Hill". Hours later, the Capitol was breached by a violent mob led by members of the
Proud Boys militia who planned to use violence to stop the transfer of power. After the attack, Barnett boasted about his actions online, Loeb recalled the image, saying: "This is the office of the Speaker of the House! She’s third in line for the presidency, and this is normally a pretty tough place to get into. So I kept going through the office, and eventually came across this guy sitting at one of the staffers’ desks with his feet up. He’s pretty jovial, and looking through some of the papers on the desk. The staffers that had been in there earlier had left in such a hurry that there were still emails open on their computers. People had left their cell phones on their desks. It was clear that whoever had left was in a big hurry and probably scared, and wanted to get out as fast as they could. But now these guys are in there, treating it as if it were their home. It was a pretty jarring sight to see." By the evening of January 6, the mayor of Barnett's hometown issued a statement saying "This picture has gone viral and has brought the city of Gravette into the spotlight, which is unfortunate... We have had citizens receive threats, calls to our police, social media posts, and emails wanting to know what Gravette is going to do about this situation."
Jeffrey A. Rosen, acting attorney general of the United States, described the photograph as "shocking" and "repulsive".
The Washington Post ran a headline about the photograph: "Many of the images from the Capitol riot showed the terror. One highlighted the smugness" By June 2021, Barnett had begun selling autographed copies of the photo for $100 in a fundraiser that bragged the photo had turned him into "the face of the new anti-Federalist movement". Loeb, a 2004 alumnus of the
University of Arizona School of Journalism, was profiled by his alma mater and he was widely interviewed about his experience in the Speaker's office.
Arrest, trial and incarceration On January 8, 2021, Barnett was arrested. He was indicted on January 29 of four misdemeanor and four felony charges: disorderly conduct; "obstruction of an official proceeding; aiding and abetting; entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon; parading, demonstrating or picketing in a capitol building; and theft of government property." On February 4, 2021, Barnett pleaded not guilty to all charges. After approximately two hours of jury deliberation, Barnett was found guilty of all charges in January 2023, On May 24, 2023, he was sentenced to 54 months in prison. At the sentencing prosecution brought up Barnett's attempt to profit from his crimes by selling autographed photos of himself in Pelosi's office, and the fact that several Capitol staffers left public service due to trauma caused by the riot. After release, he was to be subject to 36 months
supervised release and a $2,000 fine. Following sentencing Barnett requested that he be placed at
Federal Prison Camp, Yankton, in
Yankton, South Dakota, and that he be allowed to wait until August 22 to self-report to prison. He was allowed to self-report, but all his other requests were denied. He stated he plans to appeal the conviction. On January 20, 2025, after beginning his
second term in office, President Trump
issued pardons to Barnett and roughly 1,500 other individuals charged with crimes connected to January 6th. He was released from prison the next day. == Personal life ==