Unlike others convicted of crimes, members of the Jan. 6 pro-Donald Trump, anti-Joe Biden mob, like Adam Johnson, is getting a second chance—by running for political office in Florida.
Johnson, who was photographed taking former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s podium, filed to run as a Republican for an at-large seat on the Manatee County Commission on the fifth anniversary of the attack.
In the now iconic shot, Johnson smiled and waved with the podium in hand while someone snapped a shot. His campaign logo, according to the Associated Press, is an outline of the viral photograph of him carrying the podium.
On Jan. 6, 2021, he placed the podium in the center of the Capitol Rotunda and pretended to make a speech while posing for photos.
Johnson claimed he “exercised” his “First Amendment right to speak and protest,” which resulted in him pleading guilty to a misdemeanor of entering and remaining in a restricted building or ground. He said he used the Jan. 6 filing date to his advantage, saying “it’s definitely good for getting the buzz out there.”
Dubbed “the podium guy,” Johnson once bragged about being “finally famous” and claiming he “broke the internet.” His thoughts have gone back and forth, once telling U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton during sentencing that he felt posing with Pelosi’s podium was a “very stupid idea” and regretted the move since it resulted in prison time.
Johnson has since downplayed the incident, saying, “I walked into a building, I took a picture with a piece of furniture, and I left.”
ampforwp-incontent-custom-banner ampforwp-incontent-ad2">Located near Tampa Bay, Johnson has had a rift with Manatee County since March 2025. That’s when he filed a lawsuit against the county and six of its commissioners, objecting to the county’s decision not to obtain attorneys’ fees from someone who sued the county and dropped the lawsuit.
In response, Manatee called Johnson’s claims “completely meritless and unsupported by law.”
In addition, he labeled county leaders as wasteful by opposing the county’s high property taxes and overdevelopment. “I will be more heavily scrutinized than any other candidate who is running in this race,” Johnson said. “This 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 is expected to run against four other Republican candidates, according to The Hill.
According to his campaign website, he hopes to “bring MAGA principles to county government and root out the corruption that’s been costing you money and destroying our quality of life.”
He is one of several indicted insurrectionists who have run for office since the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Jake Lang, pardoned after being charged with assaulting an officer, civil disorder, and more, announced his campaign to run for the vacant U.S. Senate seat in Florida after former Sen. Marco Rubio was named Secretary of State for the Trump Administration.
The administration seemingly stands by those who served time and were pardoned for participating in the attacks. A website launched by the White House blamed Democrats for “masterfully reversing reality” and claimed the pardons “corrected a historic wrong” against individuals who were “unjustly punished.”
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