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Richard "Bigo" Barnett

Pardoned January 6 defendant · appellate judgment vacated and case dismissed after clemency

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Richard Bigo Barnett is a Gravette, Arkansas man - born in Memphis in May 1960, a Second Amendment organizer, a classic-car trader, and one of the very few January 6 defendants who spent his own money helping other defendants pay their lawyers. He became the most photographed face of January 6. He is also, per fellow defendants, one of the quietest donors to their legal funds. WHO HE IS FACT - Barnett was born in Memphis, Tennessee in May 1960 and lives in Gravette, Benton County, in far northwest Arkansas (Wikipedia; Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; Institute for Public Service Reporting - Memphis). THEIR ACCOUNT - Barnett has said he worked as a firefighter in Memphis. Memphis Fire Services was unable to confirm the employment record, so this archive labels it as his account rather than as an established fact. It is his to prove or correct, and this profile will publish either. FACT - He has also been described as a former window salesman, and since his arrest has made his living buying and selling classic automobiles. FACT - Barnett is a co-founder of 2A NWA Stand, a Second Amendment rights organization in northwest Arkansas. NEEDS AUTHENTICATION - A donor message posted publicly on Richard Barnett GiveSendGo campaign, signed by a fellow January 6 defendant, credits him with donating on that platform to other defendants legal funds and calls his voice a guiding light for people facing the same lawfare. Public campaign comments are not court records, so this archive flags rather than asserts it - but it is on the page, in another defendant own words. THE LEGAL FIGHT FACT - Barnett was arrested January 8, 2021, two days after January 6 - one of the first arrests in the entire investigation. FACT - On January 23, 2023 a jury found him guilty on eight counts, including felony civil disorder and obstruction of an official proceeding. FACT - On May 24, 2023 he was sentenced to 54 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release. He filed a direct appeal on June 9, 2023. FACT - On January 20, 2025 Richard Barnett received a full and unconditional presidential pardon. He was released from prison that night. The DOJ Office of the Pardon Attorney lists him among pardon-certificate recipients. FACT - His appeal in the D.C. Circuit, docket 23-3086, was dismissed following the pardon, reported February 5, 2025. FACT - He has continued to press post-pardon claims in court, reported by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in October 2025. Charges are charges. A jury verdict is a jury verdict. A full pardon wipes the conviction. All three are in this record. SUPPORT Public campaign: https://www.givesendgo.com/RichardBarnett CASE RECORD Name: Richard Bigo Barnett Hometown: Gravette, Benton County, Arkansas; born Memphis, Tennessee, May 1960 Case number: 1:21-cr-00038-CRC-1 Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia; appeal, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, 23-3086 Arrest: January 8, 2021 Verdict: guilty, jury trial, eight counts, January 23, 2023 Sentence: May 24, 2023 - 54 months Clemency: Full pardon, January 20, 2025 DOJ case page: https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/defendants/barnett-richard Search terms people use to find this page: Richard Barnett January 6, Bigo Barnett pardon, Richard Bigo Barnett Gravette Arkansas, Arkansas J6 pardon, pardoned January 6 defendant Pelosi office. This profile is unclaimed. If this is you - or your family - claiming it is free, forever.

The case file

On the record

Case number
1:21-cr-00038-CRC-1
Court
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia; U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
Judge
Christopher R. Cooper
Defense attorney
Joseph McBride and Bradford Geyer (trial); Jonathan Gross (appeal)
Disposition
Found guilty by jury on eight counts on January 23, 2023; sentenced May 24, 2023 to 54 months imprisonment and 36 months supervised release, with financial terms requiring native-judgment resolution; direct appeal filed June 9, 2023; full presidential pardon issued January 20, 2025; appellate dismissal reported February 5, 2025, with native order pending capture.
Arrested
January 8, 2021
Sentenced
May 24, 2023

Charges

  • Obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting
  • Civil disorder
  • Entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon
  • Disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon
  • Entering and remaining in certain rooms in a Capitol building
  • Disorderly conduct in a Capitol building
  • Theft of government property
  • Parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building

Sentence

54 months imprisonment and 36 months supervised release. DOJ described a $2,000 fine; public docket-derived summaries describe $455 in assessments and $2,000 restitution. Native judgment pending. Fully pardoned January 20, 2025.

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Connection to United States v. Nichols

Richard "Bigo" Barnett appears in the record of United States v. Nichols through 12 shared documents on file below. The full case — timeline, people, documents — is public and free.

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Evidence on file

12 documents on file

Court2 documents

Court orders, rulings, transcripts, and docket entries.

Olson v. McBride — Motion-to-dismiss ruling involving Barnett venue report (ECF No. 25)

ruling · Jul 20, 2026

Olson v. McBride — Motion-to-dismiss ruling involving Barnett venue report (ECF No. 25)

Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald denied Joseph D. McBride and McBride Law Firm’s motion to dismiss a copyright claim concerning a community-attitude report filed in Richard Barnett’s January 6 venue-transfer motion. The ruling allowed the copyright case to proceed; it did not establish final infringement liability, damages, fair use, or any fact about Barnett’s guilt or innocence.

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Govt response6 documents

Responses from DC DOC, the U.S. Marshals, and federal agencies.

News4 documents

Press coverage.