‘Bigo’, the impostor on Nancy Pelosi’s desk who left ‘a room behind’ during the Capitol riot

Last Saturday, Richard Barnett of Gravette, Arkansas, slammed House Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a Facebook post for using the description of “white nationalist” as a “derogatory term.”

“I am white. There is no denying that. I am a nationalist. I put my nation first. That makes me a white nationalist,” Barnett wrote on a page he kept under a pseudonym, before adding that people who don’t they were nationalists should “get the f … out of our nation.”

Just four days later, Barnett was photographed sitting with his feet up on a desk in Pelosi’s office on the United States Capitol, an image that quickly became emblematic of the chaotic assault on the compound by a pro-Trump mob.

Barnett, who is 60 years old and goes by the nickname “Bigo”, identified himself as the intruder in Pelosi’s office to New York Times reporter Matthew Rosenberg later Wednesday, according to a Twitter post.

Barnett also confirmed her participation on the Arkansas television station 5News. Barnett, who was photographed outside the Capitol holding an envelope that he said he pulled from Pelosi’s office, said he had taken the envelope because there was bleeding on it. “I leave a quarter on the desk because I am not a thief,” he told 5News.

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Wednesday night calls to a cell phone number registered in Barnett were routed to a voicemail account that was not accepting messages.

Barnett is a supporter of President Donald Trump and a gun rights advocate who has repeatedly shared false claims via social media that the election was stolen, according to a review of two Facebook accounts linked to Barnett. In a post, Barnett falsely claimed that there were “mountains of evidence” of voter fraud.

One of the Facebook accounts, in Barnett’s name, was blocked or removed from the social media site Wednesday night. Another account, named “George Reincarnated Patton” after the WWII general, was blocked or removed on Thursday morning.

The Post was able to link the latest account to Barnett because the profile photo featured Barnett and the page contained a selfie of Barnett, as well as a post that he had signed under his real name.

Additionally, a post on the “Patton” account last Saturday urged his friends to switch to the account with Barnett’s real name. “Tired of double posting,” it read.

In a Dec. 28 Facebook post on Patton’s page, Barnett announced that he would be attending Wednesday’s rally and urged his Arkansas teammates to make sacrifices to join him there.

“This is OUR COUNTRY !!!” he wrote. “Can you give an internet day or work or whatever to be active?” He added: “Bring the j … people. PLEASE REMAIN !!! If not now, when?”

In the post, Barnett expressed disappointment that the past political events he had attended had attracted only a “small handful” of people.

Ten days earlier, he had posted photos of himself and a few others protesting the election result in front of the Capitol building in Little Rock, Arkansas. Barnett posed for a photo holding a rifle.

In a separate post the same day, Barnett wrote that he “came into this world kicking and screaming, covered in someone else’s blood,” adding, “I’m not afraid to go out the same way.”

The post was accompanied by a selfie of Barnett with a rifle strapped to his chest. He wore a polo shirt that had the “Blue Lives Matter” flag logo on one sleeve for the police.

Later, Barnett shared a link to a speech Vice President Mike Pence delivered on December 22 at a conservative group convention in West Palm Beach, Florida, in which Pence pledged to “keep fighting until all illegal voting is discarded”.

Barnett has organized fundraisers for the police department in Sulfur Springs, Arkansas, near Gravette, according to his Facebook accounts and an October article in the Westside Eagle-Observer newspaper.

The article said Barnett presented the department with a check to fund the purchase of body cameras for officers after raising money at a “Back The Blue” rally and auction.

Sulfur Springs Police Chief Jarod Morgan, who was photographed by the newspaper accepting Barnett’s check, did not respond to messages Wednesday night.

Also in October, Barnett helped raise more than $ 1,000 for “Save Our Children,” a campaign against child trafficking, according to another Eagle-Observer article. Facebook limited the use of the national campaign hashtag because it found that content linked to the campaign was associated with QAnon’s conspiracy theory, which involves false allegations of child abuse among the global elite.

Online in recent weeks, Barnett has shared numerous conspiracy theories about the coronavirus pandemic and the vaccines used to combat it. He has criticized the requirements for the masks and complained in a post that a food truck denied him service.

Amid complaints about the pandemic and the elections, Barnett posted a video of people arriving at Wednesday’s rally on his Facebook page.

“They are early people, but we are bonding,” said a voice narrating the clip. “Get ready for the party.”