Dream. John Fetterman inadvertently I took a photo Monday with a rioter grabbing former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lectern and posing with her during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The photo was received the same day President Donald Trump took the oath of office and hours before Trump issued an unconditional pardon to most of the Capitol rioters — along with 14 commutations for other criminals, including Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes.
In a post from X Monday, Adam Johnson – who refers to himself on social media as “The Guy with the Lectern” – posted a photo of himself Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania who was more open to working with Trump than some members of his party, at Starbucks with the caption: “Only two guys get their redemption period.”
In the photo, Fetterman is wearing a classic sweatshirt and shorts while giving two thumbs up. The senator’s spokesman said the Democrat had “no idea” who that person was.
“Yesterday he took dozens of photos with people,” the spokesman said.
Washington and the U.S. Capitol were packed with people who had traveled to Trump’s inauguration. Some of the Jan. 6 defendants, including a South Jersey man, were allowed by the courts to travel to Washington to attend the trial. However, once you do the ceremony was moved indoorsonly certain people were able to see Trump’s inauguration first-hand.
Johnson’s photo was released before Trump signed the pardons, which eliminated criminal cases for “approximately 1,500 people.”
» READ MORE: President Donald Trump pardoned nearly every defendant on Jan. 6, clearing the way for some to be released from prison
According to his X profile, Johnson said he was one of the people who received a pardon for his actions that day. Johnson was sentenced in February 2022 to more than two months in prison followed by one year of supervised release, – NPR reported. A photo of Johnson smiling and waving as he took the podium on January 6, 2021, went viral. Prosecutors say he placed a podium in the middle of the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, posed for photos and pretended to give a speech on it.
Like many of his colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, Fetterman has sharply criticized efforts by Trump and his allies to subvert and sow doubt in the 2020 presidential election. The senator has not issued a statement regarding Trump’s pardon from Tuesday morning.
The Democrat expressed a scarce openness to working with Republicans and a second Trump administration. He met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, held meetings with many of Trump’s Cabinet nominees and was one of the lone Democratic co-sponsors of Laken Riley’s controversial bill to crack down on illegal immigration before it gained more support from the party.
Fetterman’s only posts on his personal or professional X accounts on Monday touted his vote for Laken Riley’s bill and congratulated Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Fetterman’s former Senate colleague, on his approval.
It was because of his constant outreach and cooperation with Republicans that Fetterman had to deny rumors that he had switched parties.
“It Won’t Happen” Fetterman told Semafor on Monday night. (*6*)
