A Florida handyman, Andrew Paul Johnson, 45, was sentenced to life in prison for molesting two children. Interestingly, Johnson had previously been convicted of storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, but was pardoned by President Donald Trump.
Johnson is among several Jan. 6 defendants who have been charged with new crimes since Trump’s sweeping act of clemency for Capitol rioters. Despite being pardoned, Johnson was convicted last month of two counts of lewd or lascivious molestation of a child and one count of electronically transmitting material harmful to a minor in Hernando County, Florida.
Investigators found sexually explicit messages that Johnson exchanged with one of his victims on the Discord messaging app. Johnson had attempted to have more private conversations and encouraged the victim to delete their messages afterwards.
Johnson, of Seffner, Florida, participated in the Capitol riot after attending Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally. He entered the building through an office window and confronted police officers after tear gas was used to disperse the mob of Trump supporters.
