WASHINGTON — The American flag that a Gravette man wanted to retrieve from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office during the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, was "on a steel pipe, for Antifa," according to video presented during the opening arguments of his trial on Tuesday.

Richard “Bigo” Barnett, 62, faces eight counts in connection with the riot. He gained worldwide attention after posing for photos with his foot on a desk in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office suite. 3PE Steel Pipe

Barnett faces enhanced charges for entering the Capitol with a dangerous or deadly weapon — a ZAP Hike ’n Strike Hiking Staff that Barnett purchased at Bass Pro Shop in Rogers a week before the riot. Prosecutors say the stun gun was advertised as being capable of delivering a 950,000-volt shock.

A superseding indictment filed on Dec. 21 added the eighth charge of interfering with a police officer during "civil disorder."

Federal prosecutors said the civil disorder charge stems from Barnett’s conduct in the Capitol Rotunda, where he confronted a police officer because he had left his American flag in Pelosi’s office and he wanted it back. Video of that encounter was presented in court on Tuesday.

Jury selection began on Monday in federal court in the District of Columbia. The jury was was seated at mid-day on Tuesday. The jury includes two alternates that were chosen before the trial, but the jurors don't know who the alternates are. The jury consists of four Black men, four white men, three Black women and three white women.

Only one witness took the stand Tuesday — Emily Berret, who was director of operations for Pelosi's office during the Jan. 6, 2021, melee.

It was atop Berret's desk that Barnett had placed his foot.

Berret testified that Barnett and others who entered Pelosi's office that day had impeded Congress' ability to certify the election of Joseph Biden.

She said Pelosi staffers took refuge in a safe room that had no windows and strong doors that could be locked.

"We were delayed but we were not stopped," said Berret. "We had to pause because these people were in the Capitol."

While in lockdown, someone texted Berret a photo of Barnett sitting at her desk, she testified. Berret said her personal cell phone was at her desk as well as her purse. She called her husband and asked him to start cancelling her credit cards.

Berret said she later found two threatening notes on her desk. One read "We will not back down." The other read, "Hey Nancy, Bigo was here, Biotch."

Also on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper denied requests from Barnett’s legal team to dismiss two of the charges against him.

Barnett’s attorneys filed a motion asking the judge to dismiss the "civil disorder" charge, saying it was filed too late. They also filed a motion to dismiss another charge because the wording had been changed from the original indictment.

Barnett faces the following charges:

• 18:1512(c)(2) and 2; Obstruction of an Official Proceeding and Aiding and Abetting

• 18:1752(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A); Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon

• 18:1752(a)(2) and (b)(1)(A); Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon

• 40:5104(e)(2)(C); Entering and Remaining in Certain Rooms in the Capitol Building

• 40:5104(e)(2)(D); Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building

• 40:5104(e)(2)(G); Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building

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