Exactly five years after a photograph of him carrying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lectern through the U.S. Capitol became one of the most viral images of the Jan. 6 riot, Adam Johnson has filed to run for a seat on the Manatee County Commission.
Johnson, a Parrish man who was among many arrested for their role in the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol, filed to run for the Manatee County Commission during the riot’s fifth anniversary Tuesday.
In 2021, he was photographed smiling and waving as he proudly carried Pelosi’s lectern through the Capitol rotunda after a mob of Trump supporters forced its way into the building. The image turned Johnson and his actions that day into a bit of a meme and eventually contributed to his arrest days later. He was eventually pardoned by President Donald Trump.
Johnson’s entry into the Manatee County Commission race raises questions about how voters will react to his presence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, and whether they support current Commissioner Jason Bearden’s far-right-wing principles and tough stance against local overdevelopment.
Commitment to Trump, however, could still work in Johnson’s favor during his bid for office in deep-red Manatee County. He faces Republicans Tony Barrett, John B. Calovich, Anthony C. Drake and Edward J. Ference during the GOP Primary. Bearden has not yet filed for re-election.
