WASHINGTON (KNWA/KFTA) — Northwest Arkansas man Richard “BigO” Barnett was sentenced to 54 months in prison today for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Additionally, Barnett was sentenced to three years of supervised release after he gets out of prison.
Barnett, 63, of Gravette, was convicted by a federal jury on January 23. He says that he will be appealing the decision.
“You’ve become a face of this and I think you like it,” U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper said. “No doubt you’re a good family man and a friend to many and you have good in your heart.”
Cooper noted that he didn’t believe that he came just to peacefully attend the Trump rally.
“Social media posts show you knew occupying the Capitol was in the cards,” Cooper said. “You armed yourself for violence.”
Barnett gained notoriety from the insurrection after he was photographed putting his feet up on a desk in former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s office suite.
Prosecutors suggested last week that Barnett be sentenced to 70- to 87-months in prison, as well as three years of supervised release after Barnett gets out of prison, as well as a $25,000 fine.
Barnett’s legal team called the suggestion a “life sentence,” and countered that because he wasn’t violent during his time in the capitol, he should get little to no prison time.