WASHINGTON — A Holt man pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to assaulting a police officer during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Logan James Barnhart, 41, faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and possible fines for his role in the insurgency, which disrupted a joint session of Congress convened to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election, according to a press release from the United States. District of Columbia Attorney’s Office.
Authorities arrested Barnhart in August 2021. A federal district court judge will determine his sentence on March 9, 2023.
Barnhart was also charged with entering and remaining in a restricted building or property, disorderly conduct and disruptive conduct in a restricted area, and engaging in physical violence in a restricted location. The court dismissed the remaining charges as part of a plea agreement.
Barnhart’s attorney, Michelle Peterson, federal public defender for the District of Columbia, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Court records show Barnhart was released on personal bail when he was charged. He is under GPS surveillance and confined to his home except for work.
Barnhart was part of a crowd that confronted police at the Capitol Arch around 4:27 p.m., the statement said. As another rioter hit a Metropolitan Police Department officer with a crutch, Barnhart grabbed the officer by the neck of his ballistic vest. Then they dragged the police office down the steps, where other rioters beat it with batons and flagpoles. The officer suffered bruises and abrasions in the assault.
About five minutes later, the statement said, Barnhart returned to the vault, where rioters were “slamming riot shields into the line of police.”
“Barnhart pushed other rioters from behind, supporting them and propelling them forward into the line of officers. He then approached the line of officers and struck them with the base of a mast “, reads the press release.
Learn more about the case:Haslett man charged with assaulting DC officer in connection with Jan. 6 attack on U.S. Capitol
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Barnhart was one of eight defendants who were part of the indictment. He was the third to plead guilty. Jack Wade Whitton, 32, of Locust Grove, Georgia, and Justin Jersey, 32, of Flint, pleaded guilty earlier this month. Five others have pleaded not guilty and their trials are ongoing.
Barnhart was seen in an image showing a man wearing a ‘CAT’ hoodie holding a Metropolitan Police officer as the officer was dragged down the stairs outside a tunnel on the west side of the US Capitol, reported the Huffington Post last year.
Internet researchers studied content Barnhart posted on Instagram, bodybuilding websites and photography websites, according to the publication. In July 2019, an image of Barnhart wearing “the same American flag hat he would later wear on Capitol Hill” was posted to the account; and in August 2020 he posted a video of himself at work in a Caterpillar-branded sweatshirt.
More than 870 people from nearly every state have been arrested in connection with the insurgency, the statement said. More than 265 of them have been charged with assault or obstructing law enforcement.
According to Barnhart’s plea agreement, the riot – led by supporters of former President Donald Trump – caused an estimated $1.5 million in damage to the US Capitol. Barnhart has agreed to pay $2,000 in restitution to the Capitol’s architects, as well as a payment to the injured police officer, which has yet to be determined.
Barnhart was a star at Haslett High School in the late 1990s and led the school’s varsity football team to the state finals in 1999.
That year, Barnhart was charged with inciting a riot as part of a melee in East Lansing that caused approximately $145,000 in damage to the town and Michigan State University campus, records show. of the State Journal. According to the police, he helped overturn a car.
Barnhart pleaded guilty to unlawful assembly, a felony lasting up to five years, and was sentenced to 45 days in jail, 2 years probation and 100 hours of community service. He was also ordered to pay $5,500 in restitution and costs.
Contact journalist Jared Weber at 517-582-3937 or [email protected].
