Pardoned US Capitol Rioter Convicted of Child Sexual Abuse

Andrew Paul Johnson, a Florida resident and one of the individuals pardoned by former President Donald Trump for participating in the January 6 Capitol riot, was convicted on Tuesday of several counts related to the sexual abuse of minors, as stated by prosecutors.

The Hernando County jury found Johnson guilty on five counts, which included molesting a child under the age of 12 and another child younger than 16, as well as charges of lewd and lascivious exhibition, as initially reported by NPR.

In this case, Johnson was acquitted of a separate charge for sending sexual materials to a minor. His arrest took place in August, according to the news outlet.

Details from a police report accessed by NPR outlined Johnson's acts of sexual abuse and molestation over an extended period.

The mother of one victim learned that Johnson, who was identified as her "ex- boyfriend," had sent inappropriate messages via the gaming platform Discord to her young son, according to the police documentation.

When questioned about Johnson’s behavior, the boy revealed to his mother that he had been molested three times over a span starting from April 1, 2024, to October 2024, beginning when he was 11 years old.

Moreover, Johnson allegedly pressured one of the victims to remain silent about the abuse by claiming that the Trump administration was compensating him with $10 million as restitution for his prior status as a January 6 defendant, asserting that he would include the victim in his will to receive any remaining funds, according to the police report.

Though some individuals convicted on January 6 have pushed for reparations, none have yet received any payments.

The police report noted that this method was reportedly intended to prevent the victim from revealing the misconduct committed by Johnson.

Johnson previously pleaded guilty to nonviolent offenses related to the January 6 incident and was sentenced to one year in prison in 2024, as detailed in a sentencing memorandum.

Prosecutors had recommended the sentence due to Johnson’s actions, which included breaking into the U.S. Capitol by climbing through an office window that had been shattered and encouraging other rioters to join him, as outlined in the court documents.

After spending several hours engaging in disorderly conduct on the Capitol grounds, Johnson was eventually apprehended by law enforcement.

Following his arrest, Johnson allegedly spread misinformation concerning the January 6 riot on social media and made calls for another riot to occur a year later, according to prosecutors.

The memorandum indicated that Johnson had breached his release conditions on at least ten occasions and has an extensive prior criminal record.

He was among about 1,500 individuals charged in connection with the January 6 riot who eventually received pardons from Trump during the early days of his second term.

Johnson is scheduled for sentencing in March and is facing a potential prison term of up to life, as mentioned by William Forgie, the chief assistant state attorney for Florida’s Fifth Judicial Circuit.