MANATEE COUNTY (WSNN) – The viral photo of a man stealing a podium from the U.S. Capitol is arrested in Pinellas County.
He’s a local from Parrish, and according to the arrest report, 36-year-old Adam Johnson was booked in the Pinellas County Jail around 9 p.m. Friday. He remains there on a US Marshal warrant.
In an article by the U.S. Department of Justice, Johnson has three charges: “One count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; one count of theft of government property; and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. Johnson was arrested yesterday and is currently in custody.”
“I recognized his image when I saw it on social media of him with the speaker’s podium under his arm, waving to the camera,” says an Acquaintance of Adam Johnson who wishes to remain anonymous.
Manatee County residents say this ‘Podium Guy’ as he’s been called, is Adam Christian Johnson. In the photo, he’s smiling and waving as he carries out a lectern allegedly belonging to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, during the Capitol riots, Wednesday. The anonymous acquaintance says he’s a 36-year-old man to married to a local physician, is a father of five, and lives in Parrish.
“From what I’ve heard from mutual friends; his extreme right positions on these issues have caused friction in the marriage, as well as his failure to achieve gainful employment,” the acquaintance said.
The FBI is actively looking for information on the rioters and on Adam Johnson.
“I felt it was my responsibility to report what I knew to the FBI in terms of his identity, and they responded fairly quickly,” the acquaintance said. “I have been contacted by two separate special agents of the FBI.”
Johnson is a registered voter in Manatee County with no party affiliation. The Supervisor of Elections in Manatee County says Johnson voted in two general elections — 2004 and 2020.
Documents show he has no party affiliation. Vice-Chairman of Florida GOP, Christian Ziegler says he’s never seen him before.
“A lot of these people that kind of rushed the capitol the other day, I think are people who have never gotten involved, been productive, or tried to make meaningful change. It’s unfortunate because what that does is cast a negative light on the people that actually do step up and do the work,” Ziegler said.
Unlike others from Manatee County who went to D.C. to make their voices heard.
“80 of them who I know personally,” a Women For Trump member who wishes to remain anonymous said. “None of them went up there with the intent to do this. They are humiliated and embarrassed and saddened by the actions of people on both – I don’t want even want to call it the far right or the far left – it’s just people who’ve dropped off either side.”
“Adam Johnson is going to be tarred with this image of him. It’s going to become iconic,” the acquaintance said. “And he’s never going to live this down. This is something that’s going to follow him for the rest of his life.”
If you have any information on the rioters who instigated violence in Washington DC, Wednesday, the FBI is asking you to call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or report it at fbi.gov/USCapitol.
