JUSTICE FOR RICHARD BARNETT:
This is a classic case of: The punishment doesn’t fit the crime. On Wednesday, January 6th, thousands of Trump supporters gathered outside the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. in protest of the 2020 election, which they felt was carried out unfairly.
This was and is their First Amendment right to freedom of speech and freedom of expression. And it’s their right as American citizens to assemble and petition the Government for a redress of their grievances.
This is all Richard Barnett — a patriot and otherwise law-abiding citizen — had gone there to do: exercise his rights as an American citizen.
Not everyone who appeared there that day is innocent, granted. There were a few bad apples, and no one is denying that. And no one is saying there shouldn't be legal consequences for those individuals' behavior.
But Richard Barnett is among those who are, in fact, innocent.
Yet now, he’s incarcerated and facing numerous charges. Unfairly and unjustly.
It’s an American travesty, and unfortunately just a symptom of a greater problem that exemplifies where we are as a nation and society.
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?
In the process of a huge mass of people swarming towards the Capitol — some willfully, in an attempt to enter the building and petition the Government to hear them out; others caught in the overwhelming, uncontrollable crowd — Barnett himself was forced into the building by no fault of his own.
All this, with the enabling, stepping aside of and... some say... even at the very encouragement of police — and was even injured in the process.
It is believed that evidence will show that Barnett had no choice but to end up inside the Capitol. The man was in a situation where, as he stated it:
“You either go in or you are trampled.”
This injured elderly patriot then found himself in Nancy Pelosi’s office, with a bleeding wound on his finger. As his cousin Eileen Halpin explains it, he took an envelope to prevent the possibility of being accused of making a “blood threat.”
Oh yeah, big time crime there. Please.
And somehow taking this envelope, which has literally almost no value has been used to fabricate one of the many baseless charges he’s now facing: “theft of public property.” It’s unequivocally absurd.
SHOCKINGLY, RICHARD BARNETT IS STILL INCARCERATED.
Why is a 60-year-old man who essentially did nothing wrong, except perhaps a very minor offense of trespassing, now locked up?
And why is he still locked up, all this time later? For something so minor?
Barnett — not knowing what a groundless sham this whole thing would evolve into — was so sure he’d done nothing seriously wrong that he even went to Arkansas police and turned himself in, a mere 2 days following the event at the Capitol (a fact that clearly demonstrates what a man of integrity this American patriot truly is)…
Only to somehow find himself incarcerated in Oklahoma, then subsequently transferred to DC, alongside others involved in the January 6th rally.
Really, though: why was he even incarcerated at all for something so petty?
The answer to that is simple: sheer politics. That’s it and that’s all. That’s what we’ve come to in America in 2021, apparently.
SO WHY EXACTLY IS RICHARD BARNETT STILL LOCKED UP?
For this, we turn to his attorney, Joseph McBride, who — in an interview with NEWSMAX, says:
“He’s still in jail because of the politics behind this case. Mr Barnett has lived a law-abiding life for 60 years. He’s married. He’s gainfully employed. He's respected in this community. He has strong community ties. Usually, in situations like this, those reasons in and of themselves are good enough for somebody to be able to fight a case from the outside.”
This loving family man and “dog dad,” this asset to an American community, this American patriot — who traveled a thousand miles from his ailing wife of 20 years and his home, to stand up for what he believes — is now being charged with a myriad of alleged crimes, including the likes of:
Obstruction of an Official Proceeding;
Aiding and Abetting;
Entering and Remaining in a Certain Room in the Capitol Building;
Disorderly Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building;
The list goes on and on....
Seriously?
The truth is, this is nothing more than politics and scapegoating. They’re clearly just trying to make an example out of him. That’s unfair. That’s unjust. And it’s simply wrong.
RICHARD BARNETT EXPLAINS THIS INNOCENT INCIDENT IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS.
Although it’s been blown completely out of proportion, the real story is simple. And yes, quite innocent, in fact.
In a video clip on YouTube the day of the incident, we hear Barnett explaining why took the envelope from Pelosi's office, and why it wasn't really "theft" at all.
He says:
“I didn’t steal it. I bled on it. And they were... macing me and I couldn’t ...see. And so I figure: well, I’m in her office. I got blood in her office. I put a quarter on her desk [to compensate for the envelope].”
He was in the Capitol for a very short period of time. How are we keeping someone in prison for taking an envelope with his own blood on it?
This isn’t Russia; this is The United States of America, for goodness sake. Or what’s left of it, anyway, so it seems.
In what kind of America is a man put and kept in prison when he has not yet been proven guilty?
RICHARD BARNETT HAS BECOME A POLITICAL SCAPEGOAT. ONE OF MANY.
Face it: This American patriot is being used for the left’s political agenda. They want to demonize Republican voters for exercising their rights, to stifle our voices. That's all there is to it.
And Richard Barnett is not alone, here. He’s just one of a multitude of political prisoners, right here in the US of A, who is reportedly not only suffering abuses but also witnessing abuses of others.
But he doesn’t see himself as a victim. He is a resilient patriot, patiently awaiting justice for his case, and hoping the same for other fellow American patriots in his position.
“We are the toughest of the tough,” he says, from behind those walls. “We endure. We support each other through the storms, internal and external. The battle is not just surviving in here, but also watching brothers lose everything they have, all losing income, some losing homes, spouses, families and more. All because of a love for country. I have so much more to say, yet patriotism will be used against me. That’s OK. We will persevere. Father God has wrapped us in His Just Arms. It’s His Purpose. I fear no man. God is with me.”
Despite his faith and strong, enduring spirit, the fact remains: he’s been wrongfully accused.
His life and livelihood are being torn apart, and he’s having to witness the same happen to others like him, whose only wish was to have their voices be heard, to express their most basic inalienable rights as Americans.
Well, they are supposed to be inalienable, that is. But they’re being stolen away before our very eyes. That's the real theft, here.
And something must be done to stop this mistreatment, this blatant injustice being thrust upon those who love our country most.
LET’S JUST BREAK THIS DOWN.
Surely, there are countless cameras on the Capitol grounds and inside the building. Right?
So where are the videos of Richard Barnett hurting anyone? Where are the videos of him breaking anything?
Nowhere to be found.
And you know why that is? Because he didn’t.
Cell phone footage supports his case, where we see him being crammed in by the force of the mob storming into the Capitol.
And it even shows him trying to avoid going inside by grasping onto a door jamb but being overtaken by the sheer mass and speed of the unstoppable crowd.
He, and many innocent others, are being blamed for the errant behavior of a few rogue individuals who crossed the line and actually did commit serious crimes on that fateful day.
As his attorney openly attests, the charges Barnett is purportedly guilty of are nothing short of bogus.
“Under no set of circumstances did he do any of those things. At the end of the day, this case is going to turn on whether or not they can prove that there was a dangerous instrument.” — Joseph McBride, attorney for Richard Barnett
WAS RICHARD BARNETT ARMED WITH A DANGEROUS INSTRUMENT?
Some would say, yes, he had a dangerous instrument. But we have the right to bear arms under our 2nd Amendment privileges, right?
When we think of the right to bear arms, we think about guns, of course. Guns with bullets. Guns that can injure or kill, if necessary, to protect oneself and/or one’s loved ones in the event of an attack.
But Richard did not even have a real gun that day, despite that the constitution incontrovertibly affords him every right to have one.
What did he have?
A walking stick. That’s right, a walking stick.
Not a handgun. Not an AK-47. Not even a knife.
A walking stick.
THE SUPPOSED “BIG DEAL” ABOUT THE WALKING STICK IS RIDICULOUS.
“Everybody's talking about the stun gun. That's what the government is using here to blow this case out of proportion,” explains McBride, Barnett’s lawyer. “When you look at this ‘stun gun,’ so to speak, it's a really a walking stick/stun gun. It has three modes of operation: it can be a walking stick; it can be a flashlight; it can be a stun gun. In order for a stun gun to work, it has to be operable, it has to be charged or it has to have a battery. The stun gun did not work, in this case.”
A 60-YEAR-OLD MAN IS IN PRISON FOR BRINGING A WALKING STICK TO AN ALL-DAY RALLY.
The sad truth is that we’re penalizing an elder for joining in on a collective voice of freedom.
For carrying a walking stick.
Is it really that out of the ordinary that a 60-year-old patriot might want or need a walking stick when showing up to a massive rally, where he would obviously be all day and might need to use it to get around?
Of course not.
His Attorney, Joseph McBride, once again, puts it straight and to the point:
“There's no evidence of the stun gun being waived, of a walking stick hitting anybody, of it breaking anybody. We’re talking about somebody who went into a building after he was pushed in. And that’s it. It's a glorified trespass.”
WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A SLAP ON THE WRIST HAS SNOWBALLED INTO UNFAIR CHARGES.
Something must be done in this country, when those who love the country the most are being treated the worst.
Not to mention, apparently now seniors are fair game. How did it come to this?
We don’t have to agree on politics to agree that we should all have First Amendment rights. Not just activists on the left. Not just women’s rights. Not just gay rights. Not just Black Lives Matter.
Even an upstanding Republican citizen like Richard Barnett should have his right to have a say in our elections and shouldn’t be scapegoated for getting caught up in an event that spiraled out of control — an escalation of which this senior citizen and patriot is a victim and not a cause.
“This is obviously an active criminal case. So I can talk about what the public knows,” states McBride. “Mr. Barnett is a 60-year-old man. He showed up to exercise his First Amendment rights. This is not a moral case. You can have your objections about him, any way you slice it.”
WANT TO KEEP OUR PATRIOTS LOCKED UP FOR CRIMES? PROVE IT.
Last we all checked, this is a free country. A country that is supposed to have a justice system that adheres to the tenets of real justice.
Not a political machine dominated by one party with an agenda, where anyone that disagrees with some supposed “mainstream” view of things — who loves their country but may not support democratic views or their presidential candidates… who sees a different, more traditional vision for our future, and is willing to speak out as such — is demonized, discriminated against, scapegoated and locked up without merit.
That’s now how things are supposed to work. And we need a change.
Whether the election was fair or not, we cannot sit idly by while good men like Richard Barnett — with literally zero criminal history — are positioned as the poster child for a few bad apples… Just as we cannot rightfully scapegoat peaceful Black Lives Matter activists because a rogue element engaged in riots in cities across America in the Summer of 2020.
You can’t have it both ways.
If truly peaceful protesters in BLM are not rioters, then a truly peaceful protester on the right like Richard Barnett is not an “insurrectionist” and is not a serious criminal.
And he shouldn’t be treated like one.
He needs to be released and treated justly, fairly and appropriately — if charged at all for any minor offenses he may be actually guilty of — instead of inundated with false claims and bad political actors trying to force him to pose as some kind of martyr for a few extremists with which he would not associate himself.
It’s simply unfair. It’s simply unjust.
WE NEED JUSTICE FOR RICHARD BARNETT. HE IS NOT A CRIMINAL!
“This is a criminal case,” as McBride puts it. “Every element, each crime charge must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”
That’s right. So how are they going to prove something that never happened? Where’s the video footage of him hurting anyone or breaking anything?
The man took a useless envelope that he bled on, and even left a quarter behind to pay for it. Where’s the crime? Where’s the PROOF of any alleged crime???
It doesn’t exist. It’s made up.
RICHARD BARNETT IS WRONGFULLY-ACCUSED.
His attorney is fighting for him, but we need public awareness about this. We all deserve to know what really happened.
And Richard Barnett’s attorney knows his client is innocent of essentially most, if not all charges. He’s disproportionately-, inordinately- and wrongfully-accused.
“He was at the front of the line,” McBride maintains. “There are widespread reports of officers opening up doors and essentially letting the floodgates in, with no opportunity to retreat, with no opportunity to return. Throngs of people were pushed in — some willingly, some unwillingly. As the case proceeds, we will bring out those facts. We are confident that the facts support his innocence — especially with regard to the ‘dangerous weapon’ and the willful entry on his behalf.”
If there even was a crime at all here, it’s something petty and not deserving of prison time.
And what happened to innocent until proven guilty!? Apparently, there’s a double-standard, depending on our political leanings now. It’s a sad state we’re in. (Pun intended, apparently.)
We need justice for Richard Barnett. He should not be in prison. The scapegoating must come to an end.
Simply put: THE PUNISHMENT DOES NOT FIT THE CRIME.
If you would like to donate to help Richard Barnett with legal expenses and/or Richard's family during this time... All donations are appreciated and will go directly to the Barnett family.
Now that you are a Felon and a traitor you Better turn in those firearms and forfeit the right to sing the national anthem ever again what a disgrace you are to your country and your Family