Pardoned Capitol Rioter Gets Life Sentence

A Florida handyman who was sentenced Thursday to life in prison for molesting two children had previously been convicted for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and later received a pardon from President Donald Trump.

Andrew Paul Johnson, 45, is among several people charged in connection with the Capitol riot who have faced new criminal charges since Trump granted sweeping clemency to those involved in the attack, according to the Associated Press. On his first day back in the White House last year, President Trump pardoned, commuted prison sentences, or ordered the dismissal of cases for more than 1,500 individuals who had been charged in connection with the riot.

Last month, Johnson was convicted of two counts of lewd or lascivious molestation of a child and one count of electronically transmitting material harmful to a minor, according to prosecutors in Hernando County, Florida. Circuit Judge Stephen Toner sentenced him to life in prison.

Authorities said sheriff’s deputies began investigating the allegations in July 2025. One of the victims told investigators the abuse began around April 2024, several months before Johnson was sentenced for his Capitol riot conviction.

According to a sheriff’s office report, Johnson told one of the victims that he expected to receive compensation because he had been pardoned as a Jan. 6 defendant. He also claimed he would include the child in his will to inherit any remaining money. Investigators said they believe this tactic was intended to discourage the victim from reporting the abuse.

Investigators later discovered sexually explicit messages exchanged between Johnson and one of the victims on the Discord messaging app, according to the office of Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Bill Gladson. In the messages, Johnson allegedly tried to persuade the victim to move the conversation to another application for greater privacy and encouraged the victim to delete their messages afterward, prosecutors said.

In August 2024, Chief U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg in Washington sentenced Johnson to one year in prison after he pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor charges related to the Capitol riot. Johnson had attempted to withdraw his guilty plea, arguing that he had been pressured into it, but the judge denied the request before sentencing.

Johnson, who is from Seffner, Florida, carried a bullhorn as he marched toward the Capitol after attending President Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House. Federal prosecutors said he entered the building through an office window that had been smashed by other rioters and shouted at police officers after they used tear gas to disperse the crowd.

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