Pardoned Jan. 6 rioter convicted of child sex abuse : NPR
Andrew Paul Johnson was convicted of multiple charges of child molestation and exposure to children. Johnson was charged in Florida after receiving a full pardon from President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Hernando County Sheriff’s Office
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Hernando County Sheriff’s Office
A Florida handyman who received a pardon from President Trump for storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has been found guilty of multiple child molestation charges and exposing himself to children, prosecutors tell NPR. Andrew Paul Johnson, the pardoned rioter, tried to bribe a victim with money he claimed to receive as part of the defendants’ Jan. 6 restitution, police reported. The conviction is the latest case of a pardoned Capitol rioter committing new crimes after receiving a pardon.
On Tuesday, a jury in Hernando County, Florida, found Andrew Paul Johnson guilty of five counts, including molestation of a child under 12 and another under 16, as well as lewd and lascivious exhibition. Johnson was acquitted of a charge of sending sexual material to a child.
William Forgie, chief deputy district attorney for Florida’s Fifth Judicial Circuit, told NPR in an email that Johnson “faces life in prison” when he is sentenced in March. An attorney for Johnson did not respond to a telephone message seeking comment.
A Hernando County Sheriff’s Office police report filed in Johnson’s Florida case describes a pattern of abuse — including both physical sexual abuse and exposure of his genitals to children — that took place “over a period of several months.” One of Johnson’s victims was 11 years old at the time of the abuse.
Johnson also tried to silence a victim by claiming he would receive $10 million from the Trump administration in restitution for the former Jan. 6 defendants and would share that money with the victim in his will, according to the police report. Convicted rioters and their supporters have advocated for financial reparations since Trump’s return to office, although it is unclear whether the administration will take that step.
In 2024, Andrew Paul Johnson pleaded guilty to nonviolence charges for entering the U.S. Capitol through a broken window during the January 6 riot and then insulting police officers who were trying to clear the area. Prosecutors said Johnson described himself on social media as an “American terrorist” and a “proud J6er,” and that he violated court orders by posing with a gun while his case was pending.
Chief Judge James Boasberg sentenced Johnson to a year in prison, in part because of his extensive criminal history, including drug possession, driving under the influence and resisting arrest.
Trump called the more than 1,500 people charged for their roles in the Jan. 6 attack “patriots” and argued they had been treated unfairly by the justice system. “They were peaceful people, they were great people,” Trump said in 2021.
Just months after Johnson received his prison sentence, Trump pardoned him and virtually all of the other January 6 defendants.
The White House did not respond to NPR’s questions about whether the administration intended to compensate those charged for their roles in the attack on the U.S. Capitol, although some Trump administration officials have promoted the idea in the past.
Johnson is one of several former Jan. 6 defendants who faced additional legal issues after receiving a pardon from Trump. New charges against former defendants include possession of child sexual abuse material and breaking and entering.
Last week, Christopher Moynihan pleaded guilty in a New York state court to a charge of harassment after being accused of threatening to kill Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives. “I cannot allow this terrorist to live,” Moynihan allegedly wrote in a text message. “I will kill him for the future.”
The White House did not respond to NPR’s request for comment.
