Arrested Development Actor Jay Johnston's Criminal Charges From Capitol Riot Explained
Here's everything you need to know about former "Bob's Burgers" voice actor Jay Johnston's Capitol riot criminal charges. On January 6, 2021, the world was left in shock when right-wing conservatives and Donald Trump enthusiasts violently stormed the U.S. Capitol. The chaotic incident, which Trump has been charged of "inciting" after losing the 2020 election, resulted in five individuals dead and over 1,000 people arrested. One of the individuals who participated in the failed coup was "Arrested Development" actor Johnston, whose photos were shared on the FBI's Twitter account. "The #FBI is still seeing information on people who took part in the violence at the U.S. Capitol on January," they tweeted. "If you know this individual, visit tips.fbi.gov."
Following the FBI's call for tips, Licas Astrom confirmed to The Daily Beast that Johnston attended the riot. "I reached out to him. I was curious about him walking into the Capitol because I feel like that's a really big offense to our democracy and our nation," he explained. "But he said he was just at the protest and didn't go into the Capitol physically." Over the last few months, the Department of Justice has been handing out charges and convictions for people involved in the Capitol riots, including Johnston. Join us as we take a deep dive into the exact charges the actor was hit with.
Jay Johnston was hit with multiple charges including civil disorder
On June 7, the Department of Justice arrested and charged actor Jay Johnston for his involvement in the January 6. U.S. Capitol riot. According to court documents, Johnston was accused of "civil disorder, unlawful entry on restricted buildings or grounds and impeding passage through Capitol grounds." In addition to the charges, the affidavit included CCTV photo evidence of Johnston in the unruly crowd at the Capitol, including screenshots of him in the Lower West Terrace tunnel, pushing against defending Capitol police. "The FBI has interviewed three current or former associates of Johnston, all of who identified Johnston as the individual in the above photographs," the document revealed.
Lastly, the FBI included evidence of Johnston's round-trip flight records from Los Angeles to Washington D.C, and a text message written by the actor in which he admitted to being in attendance. "The news has presented it as an attack. It actually wasn't. I thought it kind of turned into that. It was a mess. Got maced and tear-gassed, and I found it quite untastic," Johnston's text message said. Due to the damning evidence, the "Mr. Show" actor was arrested in California on June 7, per NBC News. As of this writing, a trial date for Johnston has yet to be scheduled.