GRAVETTE, Ark. — Three Arkansas men are among the nearly 600 people facing federal charges in the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol. On Tuesday, July 27, a House Select Committee heard testimonies about what happened during the attack.
One of the three men involved is Richard Barnett from Gravette. Images of him in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office went viral following the attack.
Barnett’s Attorney Joseph McBride said he's been listing to the testimonies in Washington. McBride called the hearings inappropriate. Saying it’s too soon and could “poison” future trials, like, Richard Barnett’s. “These congressional hearings are not an objective search for truth,” McBride said. Instead, calling the hearing partisan. “These hearings will, without question, affect the future trials.”
University of Arkansas Political Science Professor Janine Parry says these are solely legal proceedings and shouldn’t impact future trials. “It probably won’t have any direct consequence. It won’t suffer any direct consequences or benefit from this particular matter.”
The hearing won’t affect Barnett and others directly. However, McBride believes it will affect his client in the long run.
“It continues to poison the jury," McBride said. "It certainly poisonous a D.C jury."
He’s calling the hearings a deliberate attempt to impact the judicial system. However, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen hearings happen before the trial.
“We’ve had hearings like this before," Parry said. "On everything like drugs and baseball to the Murrah building in Oklahoma City."
Parry says this can be normal for high-profile situations like this one. McBride hopes that the hearings will not negatively impact Barnett, who he says was there to protest peacefully.
“In the end, truth and light always prevail over the darkness," McBride said.
"We believe that we are on the right side of history, on the right side of these issues, that Richard Barnett will win at trial."
Barnett’s attorney also responded to the officers who spoke testified today. He applauded them for protecting the Capitol from those who stormed it on January 6. Barnett’s next hearing is scheduled for August 24. His attorney doesn’t expect him to begin with a trial until next fall.