“Podium Guy,” who was infamously photographed carrying then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lectern through the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, has asked the Department of Justice to pay him $5 million.
Adam Johnson met Wednesday with DOJ personnel to file his official claim from President Trump’s Anti-Weaponization Fund, which has been established to compensate victims of the Biden administration’s legal activities.
Mr. Johnson, who pleaded guilty to entering a restricted building and earned a 75-day sentence in 2021, told “Seen, Heard & Whispered” that he spent $250,000 on his legal defense and accrued far more than that in damage to his reputation.
He says he needs to be made whole.
“The harm is not just towards me. It is generational harm, and it will also follow my kids and grandkids,” Mr. Johnson said.
SEE ALSO: ‘Podium Guy’ seeks $5 million from Anti-Weaponization Fund
The fund was established by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche as part of a deal with Mr. Trump to drop his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over the unauthorized release of his tax returns.
Democrats and some Republicans on Capitol Hill have blasted the fund as ill-conceived. The notion that those who battled police at the Capitol has also irked lawmakers.
Mr. Johnson argued in court that he was singled out for punishment by the DOJ because he was photographed taking Mrs. Pelosi’s lectern. His case would have been handled less aggressively if he had taken any other property, his lawyer argued.
Mr. Johnson said the Anti-Weaponization Fund gives those like him a way to fight back.
“It sets kind of the mood of, ‘Don’t be afraid to show up and say I was wrongfully prosecuted.’ Continue to speak out. We have an opportunity to gain some of our lives back after this,” he said.
Mr. Johnson, who is running for a seat on the Manatee County Commission in Florida, detailed his legal battle in his book, “Taking a Stand.”
