Adam Johnson waves at a camera on January 6, 2021 at the U.S Capitol. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
On January 8, 2021, Adam Johnson was sentenced to 75 days in prison and a $5,000 fine after a photograph showed him carrying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lectern during the January 6 protests, earning him the nickname “Lectern Guy,” among protestors. Reports state that Johnson moved the podium to the center of the Capitol Rotunda and pretended to give a speech to other protestors in attendance. Many Twitter users attempted to identify “Lectern,” or “Podium Guy,” but ultimately photographer Allan Mestel, known for documenting the Black Lives Matter movement, identified Johnson and tipped off the FBI. Both Johnson and Mestel are from Manatee County in Florida and have attended some of the same social events, but have opposing political beliefs. According to the United States Attorney’s Office, Johnson was charged with knowingly entering and remaining in a restricted building, theft of government property, violent entry, and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
Johnson was one of many January 6 protestors pardoned when President Donald Trump took office on January 20, 2025. President Trump justified the pardons stating, “These are people who actually love our country, so we thought a pardon would be appropriate.”
On January 6, 2026, the fifth anniversary of the Capitol protests, The Guardian reported that, “Adam Johnson filed to run as a Republican for an at-large seat on the Manatee County Commission.” In an interview with WWSB-TV, Johnson stated that filing to run for office on the anniversary of January 6 was “not a coincidence” and that it was “definitely good for getting the buzz out there.” Johnson has several motivations for running, including objections to “high property taxes,” “overdevelopment in the county south of Tampa,” and frustrations that “current county leaders are wasteful.” Johnson also addressed the adverse public opinion he faces acknowledging that he “will be more heavily scrutinized than any other candidate who is running in this race,” but expressing his belief that “[his candidacy] is a positive and a good takeaway for every single citizen, because for once in our [lives], we will know our local politicians who are doing things.” Johnson’s campaign website states that he is “tired of watching MAGA principles get ignored at the local level,” and that he believes “real conservative leadership exposes corruption, protects taxpayers, and puts residents over special interests.”
Johnson is a conservative small-business owner and Florida local. He currently lives in Palmetto with his five sons and his wife, Susan Johnson, who practices family medicine. Johnson was arrested on two marijuana charges in his late teens and early twenties, and in 2005 he violated his probation by “failing to submit the required supervision reports, along with proof that he’d completed community service and substance abuse counseling.” Later on, in his first marriage, Johnson faced financial trouble that resulted in eviction from his apartment and, five months later, was remarried to his current wife. Johnson attended the University of South Florida and is currently unemployed and staying home to raise his children.
Johnson is not the only January 6 attendee to run for a local office, particularly in Florida. In 2024, three other January 6 participants ran as Republican candidates for congressional seats but were unsuccessful. One protestor, Jake Lang, is currently running for the Senate seat currently held by Republican Senator Ashley Moody. Lang was charged with assaulting an officer, civil disorder, and “other crimes” before he was pardoned by Trump. However, on Friday, February 6, Lang was charged with felony damage to property after destroying an anti-ICE sculpture outside the Minnesota Capitol. Lang disputes these claims, saying “he was on the Capitol grounds exercising his ‘First Amendment Right to Artistic Expression.’” As of now, Lang is still running.
